Ha Ha I Plead the Fifth
by FutureAuthoress
Summary: Hmm...two crazy doctors, and some wraith action on Atlantis. SheppardxOC McKayxOC Join Dr. Callimaeve and Dr. Sudenkorento in a strange mission, filled with romance, action, wraith, and...zoanthrope creatures?
1. Prologue

As a candle flickered against the dark room, a pencil scratched against the paper. The dim light shone upon a gold gauntlet on the table. The woman continued to write as the wind made a tree knock on the window. The room was filled with old manuscripts and books stacked on the shelves and ancient paintings covered the walls. The woman wrote of how a terrible creature known as the Bunyip ravaged the Outback. It swam through the silent rivers and preyed upon hikers lying unknowingly on the shore. Before the man can turn around the bunyip has him and pierces his chest with sharp claws. The woman brushed the long, curly, brown hair out of her face. She looked at her watch and saw the time.

She stood up and blew the candle out, then walked out of the room and up the dreary steps from the research room into the kitchen. She opened the refrigerator and took out a bottle of water. As she opened the cap and took a sip, her teeth ached from the ice cold water but it felt good to her parched throat. She looked at the large mahogany clock and decided that it was time to get to bed. After she walked upstairs to her bedroom and changed into her Eeyore pajamas, she got into her bed and turned off the light. The woman fell asleep with the last thought of the Bunyip crawling through her mind.

Colonel Samantha Carter got ready as the Daedalus, an Asgard battleship, dropped out of hyperspace. Like all members of the Stargate program, she never liked addressing the I.O.A., International Oversight Advisory. They were always so contradictory, even to their own decisions.

"Are you ready to beam down?" Colonel Steven Caldwell, commander of the Daedalus, asked.

"Yes," Carter replied.

Caldwell gave the signal and a bright light beamed upon Carter. She was then beamed down into Stargate Command where the I.O.A. would be waiting.

"Welcome back," Major General Hank Landry welcomed.

General Landry and Colonel Carter walked towards the I.O.A.'s office. As Colonel Carter entered the room, she could feel the silence clench against her bones.

After explaining to the I.O.A. that the city of Atlantis had a stardrive and that it was used to bring Atlantis from Earth to the Pegasus galaxy, she explained that both of the planets that the city have laid rest upon were not the orignal planet. Dr. Rodney McKay of the Atlantis expedition discovered this while exploring the database on Atlantis. Carter explained that they have found the original planet's address and were going to explore it as soon as they could gather a team. The I.O.A. seemed fine with everything besides the fact that they were not going to do any more research.

"Do you even know what could lie upon that planet?" Chen Xiaoyi, from China, inquired.

"Well, we know that if this was the original planet, it might have more ZPM's which we desperatly need if the wraith discover that Atlantis still exists," Colonel Carter explained.

"What if there is something there worse than the wraith, and that was the reason that they left that planet?" Russel Chapman, from the UK, asked, "Would it not be safer to just wait until you get more information?"

"We've searched the entire database and all the information states that it is safe. We've sent a MALP through and everything turned out okay," Colonel Carter was beginning to feel impatient.

After the meeting with the I.O.A., Colonel Carter went into the room in which she was staying and lied down on the bed. She had finally convinced the I.O.A. to continue with Atlantis's expedition of the planet. Carter felt more relieved as she thought about how they might be able to find a ZPM on the planet. If they could find that and more drones, they might have a chance at defeating the wraith, once and for all.

General Landry went into his office and pulled out a small notebook. He flipped to a page with a bunch of numbers and picked up the phone. He dialed a number and waited for the phone to pick up.

"Hello?" An older woman answered.

"Is this Doris?" He asked.

"Yes, it is," Doris replied happily.

"Can I please talk to Sibella?"

"Of course, just wait one minute."

After several minutes a younger woman's voice answered, "Hi, General Landry! What do you need?"

"You sound more tired than usual. What were you doing last night?" The general asked jokingly.

"I was studying the Bunyip and didn't realize what time it was," Sibel laughed.

"What is it with mythologists and staying up late?"

"Well, the longer we study them, we take on the characteristics of the monsters we study," Sibel answered.

"Ah, I see. Well, I need to ask you a question. Do you remember the Atlantis expedition?" General Landry asked worried.

The conversation ended with Sibel saying, "Are you kidding me?! I'm heading over right now!"

Sibel ran into her garage and opened the door. She grabbed her keys from her pocket and jumped into her fully tuned-out RX-7 and drove away. After driving all the way to Stargate Command, she grabbed her notebook and jumped out of the the car. She ran in and almost right into General Landry.

"Well, I didn't expect you to be here in less than 20 minutes," Landry greeted.

"I took backroads, no stop signs or traffic lights," Sibel replied nearly out of breath.

"How fast were you going?!"

"Easily over 120. If I was in my Lambo I'd be going much faster," she laughed.

"Well, Colonel Carter is right over in the gateroom," General Landry informed her.

"Thank you, uncle," Sibel said as she scurried towards the gate room.

Colonel Carter was speaking to another scientist when Sibel came into the room.

"Excuse me, Colonel Samantha Carter?" Sibel asked politely while trying to breath as evenly as possible.

"Yes?" Carter answered.

"My name is Sibella Callimaeve. I'm a mythologist employed by Stargate Command as a reference."

"I see. Well, it's nice to meet you, Sibella."

"You can call me Sibel," she replied sincerely.

"Alright, well what can I do for you, Sibel?" Carter asked.

"I understand that you found the original planet that Atlantis laid rest on."

"Yes, we believe that we might be able to find a ZPM or a couple. Possibly some drones as well," Carter explained.

"I understand your concern but I have to advise you to wait," Sibel warned nervously.

Colonel Carter was somewhat astonished. She wasn't sure if she could trust this young woman.

"You see, I have a theory that the creatures we call 'mythical' are not mythical at all. I believe that the majority of them simply left. I'm not going to go into detail at the moment, but I have a very specific creature to tell you about," Sibel revealed.

Colonel Carter spoke in a whisper now that she was worried, "Alright, let's talk about this in my room."

As they reached Carter's temporary quarters, they shut the door.

"You see," Sibel began, "At the end of WWII, an ancient manuscript disappeared. Many had read it, so those people knew and memorized the contents. My grandfather was one of those people. He memorized every word and picture, then recreated the manuscript."

"That's very interesting and impressive but I'm not sure what this has to do with the Atlantis expedition."

"Well, within that manuscript, there was information about a creature called the Peryton. It was part bird of prey and part stag. It's shadow takes the form of a human until it takes a human being's life," Sibel explained, "It inhabited the lost island of Atlantis."

Carter was flabbergasted. She flopped into a seat and tried to grasp the situation.

"How do you kill them?" Carter asked.

"Nobody knows," Sibel told her solemnly, "Nobody who has seen one has gotten the chance to try."

"Then what can we do?"

"Honestly, I'm not quite sure. I'm just a mythologist but they can't be invincible... At least, I hope," Sibel said as she stared into the dim light at the corner of the room.

Carter was nervous about trying to tell the other members of the Atlantis expedition about this. All of them, especially Dr. Mckay and Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard (the leading scientist and the highest ranking military officer) would be devastated. She sat at the table on the Daedalus and watched the magnificent blue colors fly by the window as they traveled through hyperspace.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, just wanted to let you know, that wonderful prologue was not written by me, neither was the first half of this chapter! My friend, Jenna, wrote it. Later on, we joined forces to create the most wonderfully addicting story IN THE PEGASUS GALAXY! So, enjoy...or else...X3**

* * *

Lt. Col. Sheppard walked through the silver halls of Atlantis as he waited for Col. Carter to arrive with the Daedalus. Today was one of those reminiscing days for him. John thought about all of his earlier missions and how he was put through hell during many. He didn't like remembering many of them because of how many people the Atlantis expedition had lost.

"Ah, Sheppard," he heard a non-mistakable voice say.

"McKay," Sheppard replied as he turned around to face the scientist.

"So, you waiting for Col. Carter to return as well?" the dorky scientist asked.

"Yes. Of course, I'm sure we both feel the same way about exploring the newfound planet," Sheppard remarked knowingly.

The two continued walking towards the gateroom silently most of the way. As the two entered the gateroom, they were joined by Ronan, a former Runner from a deserted planet known as Sateda. "What do you two think we will find?" the curious Ronan asked. As Sheppard explained McKay answered every sentence with "Hopefully."

"There could be anything from ZPMs to Ancients to wraith," McKay added.

"When are we going to find out?" Ronan questioned with an eager attitude.

"We should be leaving the day after Carter gets back," Sheppard responded. Just as the conversation finished Col. Carter walked into the gateroom. She sighed as she saw the three eager men walking up to her.

"So, how did the I.O.A. take to the idea?" Rodney asked.

"Well, they were fine with it, but..." Carter paused.

"But what?" Rodney asked worried.

"I was just informed about a... Concern that I am not taking lightly," Carter began to explain. "What kind of concern?" Sheppard inquired.

"Well, after the Daedalus lands, two of our new additions to the expedition will explain in the briefing room," Carter spit out as quickly as possible then started walking back up to her office.

"How many people are going to be coming into Atlantis??" Sheppard did not take the situation lightly.

"Don't worry, only five new people have joined the Atlantis Expedition," Carter explained, calmly.

"Fine, but make sure that they understand their place," Sheppard almost snapped then walked away.

Sibel yawned as she picked up her stuff after the Daedalus landed. "This is so exciting," a brunette haired, green eyed, woman said as she helped Sibel pick up her research.

"Don't be too excited, Nova. This is our job, not just a pleasure trip," Sibel explained to the woman even though she was only two years younger.

"Still," Nova began, "We're in another freaking universe! How can any scientist not be excited about that?!"

Sibel sighed as they stepped out of the Daedalus and followed Steven Caldwell towards the large buildings.

"What do you think Atlantis will be like... on the INSIDE?" Sibel asked her colleague as she started getting excited.

Nova fiddled anxiously with a lock of brown hair. "It'll be big! Oh and uh...SHINY! Well I think." She giggled, biting her lip in utter excitement.

"I have to wonder what they will think of us," Sibel said, as she wondered how they would take to her and Nova's plans of how to dominate the world if they wanted to.

Nova shrugged. "People often think...well, YOU know. We aren't exactly your 'run-of-the-mill' scientists." She tossed her hair back, and instead began chewing on her pencil in a rather unprofessional manner. "I just hope they don't throw us out like those last people!"

Sibel laughed. "Well, I guess that we'll have to take them to that secret underground cave of yours if they do!" Sibel winked twice and nudged Nova with her arm. "Of course, I could always pull out some of my AWESOME TAI CHI QUAN on them," she did a high jump kick right as Nova dropped her pencil. Sibel landed on the pencil and fell right on her butt.

The young entomologist laughed, and helped her friend back to her feet. "Well let's pray to God that you don't need to pull out your Tia Chi Quan on them, and that we can just pull this plan through peacefully." She retrieved her pencil, before following Sibel off to their destination.

Colonel Carter saw Caldwell walk into the gate room with the five new expeditioners. "Welcome back to Atlantis, Colonel," Carter greeted, "And welcome, Dr. Callimaeve and Dr. Sudenkorento, to the city of Atlantis."

Sibel looked up and stared, "Shiiiiiiiiinnnnnnyyyyyyy......"

Nova stared up at the lost city in shock, dropping her dear pencil for the last time. "It's....absolutely...gorgeous!" She breathed.

"Oh my gosh! This is AMAZING!" Sibel squeezed Nova's arm, "This is like..... O-M-G, you know?!"

Nova jumped up a little, repeating her friend's enthusiastic squeal. "I KNOW! I mean I never dreamed...Atlantis...and I'm actually standing here!" Her face paled, but she regained herself before fainting completely. She couldn't help but smile at Caldwell and Colonel Carter, before looking back at Sibel and giggling.

Sibel giggled back at her good friend. "You two seem excited to be here," Carter calmly said. "Well, YEAH! I've never been off-world before!" Sibel exclaimed.

"Yeah, or away from Earth either!" Nova chimed. "Sibel--pinch me!" She stared up at the tall buildings littering the city.

Sibel pinched Nova on the arm.

"Ouch!"

"You told me to!" Sibel laughed.

Nova shoved Sibel gently in the shoulder, but smiled despite herself. She looked up at Caldwell. "So...are we just gonna stand here all day!?"

"Whenever you two and your team are ready, you can come into the briefing room and explain what is happening," Caldwell explained in his normal unimpressed, displeased way. Just as the two looked at each other and giggled again, Dr. McKay and Lieutenant Colonel Sheppard walked into the gateroom.

"Ah, I see that you two have finally decided to join us," Carter said sarcastically.

"Well, we need to meet them and get an idea of who they," Sheppard stopped mid-sentence as he saw Sibel. "Are..."

Nova elbowed Sibel and giggled, before walking casually up to Sheppard, mimicking Caldwell's monotonous behavior. "Nova Sudenkorento, it's a pleasure to meet you." She suppressed her energy, although her twinkling eyes gave away her eagerness.

"Um... Um... My names, um..." Sibel paused as she whispered in Nova's ear. "What's my name again?!"

Nova's stern countenance broke slightly as she laughed, quietly. "Sibel, stop being so silly!" she whispered. "This is an important man!"

"Right," Sibel finally remembered what she was doing on Atlantis, "My name is Sibella Callimaeve."

Nova cleared her throat and looked to the ground, refusing to make eye contact with the either, but still flashing a huge crooked smile.

Sheppard smiled. "I'm Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard, nice to meet both of you." he replied still unable to take his eyes away from Sibel.

"Um, Nova, will you come here and synchronize your watch with me," Sibel asked.

"Uhh...okay sure." Brow furrowed, Nova took Sibel to the side and began tinkering with her watch. "What is it?" She whispered.

Sibel asked, kindly, "Can you like pinch me if I say anything stupid? I feel EXTREMELY weird right now and I don't know why. That Sheppard makes me fell all.... discombobulated."

A smirk crossed Nova's face. "Alright, I will." She looked up at the Lieutenant Colonel. "I apologize, it's a scientist thing." She wanted to slap herself for saying something so stupid, but immediately shrugged it off. "So, what did you need us for?"

"Let's go into the briefing room so you can explain what's happening," Colonel Carter hinted. "Wait just a minute," McKay said, "We don't even know all of their names yet."

"Well, as we said, I'm Sibella, that is Nova, the other three only have nicknames and even we don't quite remember what their names are sometimes," Sibel paused and muttered "Like now..."

Nova shrugged. "I guess we just work so close...ya kinda forget."

"McKay," Sheppard snapped. "Just let them do what they came here to do."

Sibel knew that Nova was going to make a remark or sound in her ear.

Sibel's suspicions were confirmed, by Nova's "Ooh!", followed by a nudge with her elbow, and quiet laugh.

Sibel nudged her friend back, except much harder, and right in the rib cage. "Shall we continue?"

As the group entered the briefing room and sat down, Sibel took one of her folders out of her side pack and set it on the table.

Nova laid her clipboard quietly on the table, and then reached behind her ear for her pencil--before remembering that she'd dropped it just outside. She bit her lip, and nudged Sibel. "Hey, you think I could get a pencil off you?" She asked.

Sibel searched through her pack and found a 7mm Scooby-Doo mechanical pencil, "Just don't chew on it," she joked as she handed Nova the pencil.

"Hah hah." Nova replied, turning the pencil several times and then focusing on the paper. "Alright, I will repeat myself when necessary; What was it you needed? I wasn't quite clear on the assignment...my partner kinda shoved me out the door at the last minute." She kicked Sibel under the table.

Sibel stood up and opened her folder. She took out pictures of the manuscript while balancing on one leg, and rubbing the one that was kicked with the other. "Excuse us if we aren't professional at times," Sibel started, "I caught Carter just before it was too late for me to tell her. she was going to send an off-world team to search a planet that Dr. McKay believes to be the original planet that the Atlanteans inhabited."

Nova nodded, and jotted a few things down. "Okay, I'm listening."

"I heard about the plans from my uncle, General Landry." Sibel explained.

"General Landry's your uncle?!" McKay was astonished.

"Yes, he is," Sibel calmly replied.

"I didn't even know he had family..." McKay muttered under his breath.

Nova raised her eyebrows and brought the clipboard up closer to her face, seemingly concentrated.

"Anyway," Sibel continued, "After I heard about it, I came straight to Stargate Command to warn Col. Carter. There is a creature that is written to have inhabited the ancient city of Atlantis."

This was where Nova's interest was piqued, so she set down the papers. "She wanted to give a full biology of the creature...it's also been a recent study of mine. You know, as a side project?" She shuddered. "Those Madagascan Hissing Roaches really give me the creeps after a few months."

"An entomologist afraid of bugs?" McKay remarked. "That's ironic."

Nova squinted her eyes. "Yeah, yeah." She mumbled.

"McKay," Sheppard said quietly. "behave yourself."

"What?" McKay said. "Don't want me to ruin your new love interest?" Sheppard kicked him under the table.

Nova crossed her arms. "You're not the first person to make that snide remark anyway." She said, haughtily. "Sibel, shall we continue?"

"Since we now know that the city of Atlantis is not a myth, many things about it must now be 'true' as well." Sibel said, "I have already told Col. Carter about the creature but I need to tell the rest of the Senior staff as well." As Sibel finished, Ronan and Teyla walked in.

"You're just in time," Sheppard said to the two.

"What did we miss?" Ronan asked.

"Forgive us for our absence. I was teaching Ronan some more meditation techniques," Teyla said while gently rubbing her pregnant belly.

A smile creeped across Nova's face. "Go ahead, sit down! Sibel was just about to explain her concern--our reason for coming here." The two Atlanteans took seats along side the others, and everyone looked at Sibel in expectancy.

As Sibel finished explaining to them what the Peryton was, McKay was skeptical.

"And how do we know that it exists?"

"We don't, but we know that because we are in another universe, something of that nature could easily be real." Col. Carter defended the myth. "We have no idea what could be real. And whether or not it is, we should be prepared."

Sibel sneakily stuck out her tongue and made a face at McKay.

Gentle murmurings arose, before Sheppard stood out of his chair and silenced the chaos. "Alright, alright!" "If this thing's real, we've got to be prepared." He threw a sideways look/smile at Sibel. Nova began doodling silently on her clipboard.

Sibel smiled silently to herself as she saw Sheppard smile at her. After the briefing, Sibel sneaked a peak over at Nova's clipboard and immediately grabbed it from her. "Why do all I see is Tic Tac Toe?! But what's this?!" Sibel froze as she a little drawing of a heart with "Sibel + Sheppard" in it.

Nova snatched her clipboard back. "Hey, no touchy!" She complained, playfully.

"Why did you write that?!" Sibel asked eagerly.

"No reason." Nova replied. "I wasn't suggesting anything, if that's what you mean." She shoved the clipboard into her briefcase and slammed the case shut.

"Riiiiiiight," Sibel replied, as she watched Nova walk out of the room.

Sheppard quietly walked up behind her and said "Nice job for your first meeting." Sibel shrieked and jumped as she fell backwards.

Sheppard took a step back, chuckling at the fumbling girl. He extended a hand to help her up, before saying "So...your first time out of the Milky Way?"

"Uh, yes it is," Sibel blushed, "I still have only been inside buildings, though," she laughed.

"Oh yes, well...the outside stuff is...rough." He replied. "So uh...your friend--seems to be a bit of an artist. At least when it comes to tic-tac-toe. Hah!" He stumbled over the words, and then cleared his throat.

"Well, she can be a pain in the butt but she can also be extremely helpful," Sibel joked, "She's like my sister."

"Well, you two seemed extremely close," Sheppard commented. Sibel giggled as Nova put her arm around her shoulder.

"Yes, that's me. Helpful little sister!" Nova gave Sibel a squeeze around the shoulders. "She needs me more than she lets on. OH I remember last summer, we went on vacation with a couple other people, and Sibel forgot--"

"Ah, ah ah, that's a story for another day!" Sibel interrupted as quickly as possible.

Nova giggled and patted Sibel on the back. "Well, I'd better go find out where we're bunking. Any clue who to talk to about that, Lieutenant Colonel?"

"That would be me, actually. I'll go find a living quarters. Do you care if you're bunked together, or would you rather be separate?" Sheppard asked.

Sibel looked at Nova.

Nova shrugged, still smirking at her lab partner. She gave Sibel a shove toward Sheppard. "Ask HER." She laughed.

"We don't mind. That way I can sneak bugs in her bed when she's sleeping," Sibel smirked.

Nova's eyes narrowed. "Yes, well remind me to take a top bunk, so that when you do and I jump so hard I break the bed, my big clumsy self will fall right on top of YOU, bugs and all." She poked her.

Sheppard smiled, "Well, I'll go find you two a room."

"Thanks," Sibel appreciated him for standing up for her. As Sheppard walked away, she nearly tackled Nova.

Nova shielded her face with the big black briefcase. "Whaaat?" She giggled. "You TOTALLY had that coming."

"Do you think that I like him or something? Are you playing matchmaker again?" Sibel asked.

"No no, not at all! After last month..." Nova shook her head, but that glittery playfulness still sparkled across her face. "But just in case...I still have that story about your suitcase." With the last sentence, Nova ran through the doors ahead of Sibel, determining both to get away from the now red-faced-and-steaming mythologist, and find their new home.

Sibel stepped outside and was amazed, "Nova, come here!!!"

Nova spun around on her heels, and dashed back. "Yeah?"

"Now this is fancy living," Sibel said as she looked out upon the sparkling blue water crashing against Atlantis.

"Whoa..." All expression drained from Nova's face. "I always wanted a house on an island." She murmured in awe. "But this...this is just gorgeous..."

"I wonder if there are mermaids on the other planet" Sibel nested her head upon one arm and looked at the sea.

"Yeah, mermaids." came Nova's quiet reply.

Sibel danced around on her toes, "And sea nymphs, and talking fish, and sirens!!!"

"Uh-huh...sirens..."

Sibel stopped as the sun started setting. She watched as the sun gently fell behind the endless ocean. She saw the green flash that came just after the sun passed the horizon.

Nova sat up, eyes popping open. "Whoa--did you see that?!"

"I always remember waiting for that with my grandpa down at the beach bluff." Sibel sighed.

Nova's jaw hung ajar. "I've never seen anything that fantastic!" She exclaimed. "Well I mean there was that one time back at the lab when we were doing some kind of thing with Sun Spiders and Lightning Bugs..." her voice trailed off, and her giggly nature returned.

"Yeah...." Sibel trailed off as well like the sun that just set over the water.

"There you two are!" Sibel heard Sheppard's voice say as he walked out unto the balcony with them.

"Hiya!" Nova greeted. She glanced at her watch. "Oh would you look at that? I need food! I'll see you two later!" She dashed off, leaving Sibel in the dust.

"I think that I found a room that will suit you two's needs," Sheppard told her.

"Yeah, um room," Sibel was still entranced by the green flash that appeared for that brief moment.

Sheppard glanced out at the horizon. The sun had set almost completely now, so the only light on the balcony was coming outside through the glass doors. "Yeah, it's not much, but it's uh...got two beds and a sink."

"Yeah, that's fine. I'm just distracted. Thinking, you know?" Sibel started rambling.

"Yeah, thinking's good. Especially when you do it with your head." He mentally kicked himself. "What are you thinking about?"

Sibel chuckled, "I always get distracted near the sea... Oh crap!!! I totally forgot. I need to do my daily workout and meditation. Where is Nova? I need to force her to eat vegetables, too. I'll um, talk to you later, right?"

"Of course." Sheppard agreed as he watched Sibel run inside the building.

Stepping inside, Sibel could see that Nova was already at the salad bar filling a plate. She waved and called out "I made myself a salad, because I knew you were coming! But I ate a piece of pizza a few minutes ago...hope that's not a problem." She patted her stomach. "Low blood sugar's all."

"That's fine, but I must watch you eat every single piece," Sibel replied as she walked up staring very hard at Nova, "And you are going to come and workout with me afterwards."

Nova groaned. "Come onnnn! You ALWAYS make me do this when we're out!"

"It's good for you, and fun, too! You don't have to be the dummy this time. And anyway, I feel awkward talking to men alone and you left me.... ALL alone." Sibel replied.

Nova stuffed a bunch of lettuce in her mouth and just shrugged.

Sibel sat down at the table and started trailing off. She yawned, "Man, I still have jet lag!"

"You're telling me!" Nova whined. "Can't we skip this whole routine tonight? I'm tuckered out!"

"That's fine, let's head to our new living quarters, plop on the bed, and sleep." Sibel told her.

Nova raised her eyebrows. "Really? Alright!" She finished the salad, and tossed the paper plate into a trashcan. "I'll get Sheppard down here to show us to our new quarters."

Sibel froze, "Man...Why does that keep happening to me?"

Nova returned a moment later, practically dragging Sheppard by the arm; it was apparent that her bounce had come back yet again. "It's right upstairs Sibel! The view from the room is great!"

Sibel sighed as she stood up. She yawned very large and shook her head a little bit, "I've never been hit this bad from jet lag. I guess that those 18 days on the Daedalus was longer than it felt."

"Yeah...I mean hey, we're in a different GALAXY for crying out loud! It's like 3:00 where we lived back in California!" And yet somehow, Nova managed to bounce around like a sugar-high lab rat.

One of Sibel's eyelids drooped as she yawned again, "I think that I'm going to fall asleep before we even get to the room."

"Well don't fall down the stairs!" Nova cried.

Sibel jumped on Nova's back, "You can carry me there!" Nova crumbled and they both fell to the floor.

In moments, the two were laughing insanely, while Sheppard stood to the side, regarding them with caution.

Sibel jumped up with a sudden burst of energy. "I hate energy drinks sometimes, it's always up down, happy sad, tired energetic!"

Nova got up off of the floor as well. "Sibel, you haven't had an energy drink all week!"

Sibel opened her eyes wide, "I know.... That's why..."

Nova's countenance lifted with realization. "Oohhh okay. Yeah except for that ONE you had before we landed." She coughed, and grabbed Sibel by the arm. "Well, it was great working with everyone Liuetenant Colonel! Can't wait to get further into the project now we'd better go before Sibel passes out see you tomorrow 'night!" She pulled her friend into the room and slammed the door.

Sibel's eye drooped again as she yawned

Nova leaned her back against the door and sat down on the floor, letting out a deep sigh. She looked up at Sibel and grinned. "Sleepy, much?"

"Man, meeting new people, traveling to another galazy. I'm pooped," Sibel said as she plopped onto the bed face down and mumbled, "Goodnight!"

"I can tell, you said 'galazy'." Nova giggled. "Well, I'm tired too." She climbed into the next bed over. "Goodnight Sibel. Sleep tight--we'll need it. Hear we've got some biiig stuff coming up tomorrow."

"Nighty night," Sibel said still muffled by the pillow.

The lights clicked off.


	3. Chapter 3

"WAKE UP SLEEPY HEAD!" Sibel yelled, with a blow horn to Nova's ear.

Nova groaned, and instantaneously grabbed for her pillow, and swatted at Sibel. "It's too early!"

Sibel whispered, "Okay, we're in Atlantis.... WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU SHOULD DO?!"

"What?!" Nova sat up in bed, nearly screaming, before she relaxed a little, breathing heavily. "Oh yeah, I forgot." She laughed. "It's like...you forget when you leave your own galaxy, ya know?" She swung her legs over the edge of the bed.

Sibel chuckled. "Would you like to get ready and come with me to...uh... Breakfast, I guess. Or a morning walk?"

"Hmm...breakfast sounds good!" Nova replied, rubbing her belly and jumping off of the bed. "You know the last thing I had to eat was that salad last night, and that really didn't do much for my blood sugar, and you know how I..." she babbled on.

Sibel waited for her to finish......

"Ready?!"

"Yeah! Let's go!" It seemed almost instantly the spry, young brunette had her hair fixed and clothes on straight.

"Oh gosh, you know what I have stuck in my head?" Sibel asked her sister as they walked out of their room and toward the mess hall.

"No, what do you have stuck in your head?" Nova was already scanning her clipboard for the day's events.

"Somewhere over the rainbow. Weird, huh?" Sibel informed Nova as the song ran through her mind. "I had Discovery channel stuck in my head earlier."

"Whoa, I've had that in my head for a while now, too." Nova replied, absentmindedly, grabbing a tray.

Sibel put one headphone in her ear and handed the other one to Nova.

Nova hummed along to the tune while the two girls served themselves, and then were seated at a nearby table.

Sibel changed the song to witchdoctor and started tapping her foot simultaneously.

Nova giggled hearing the song's crazy lyrics, and then sighed. "You know, it's stuff like this that makes me miss being a kid." She murmured, through a mouthful of food.

"Totally," Sibel replied, with a surfer accent.

"Chah." Nova imitated, before both girls burst into laughter.

"Well, someone slept well!" A voice rang from a few tables over.

Sibel jumped, since she wasn't expecting anyone to speak to her. She whispered to Nova, "I had three bowls of ice cream this morning.... BEWARE MY POWER..."

"How did you get three bowls of ice cream in before I even woke up?" Nova whispered back.

"Hehehe, cooler pack I brought from earth. At least I didn't eat the entire can."

Nova rolled her eyes, before remembering that someone had spoken to them. "Good morning, Colonel!" She smiled. "The accommodations were quite to our satisfaction, yes!"

Sibel turned around to see who spoke to them, but all she saw were daisies and birdies flying around in the air. "Whoa... Trippy...." She giggled uncontrollably as she bit Nova's shoulder.

Nova couldn't stifle her giggle. She covered her mouth. "She's a little freaked out on sugar, but that's typical Sibel. She'll be back to normal in a couple of hours."

Sibel jumped as "Buttons" onto the Mp3 player.

Nova pulled gently on the chord for Sibel's earphones, sending them falling harmlessly to the table.

"Thank you for that... I don't know if I would live through that song...."

Sheppard cleared his throat. "Well, when you ladies are done eating...perhaps you would like a tour of Atlantis?"

"I need some tea....." Sibel spoke.

"You don't drink tea..." Nova replied confused.

"I know.... Trippy."

Nova raised one eyebrow and shrugged. "Yes, that would be wonderful! If Professor Loopy over here can forget that ICE CREAM," with the words 'ice cream', Nova kicked Sibel under the table. "She had this morning!" A few moments of silence followed, and she giggled awkwardly.

Sibel stared into the distance then came back to reality. She shook her head a little bit. "Sure. What she said."

Nova smiled. "We'll be ready in fifteen minutes."

Sibel put her headphone back in her ear and changed the song to Soulja Boy. Nova laid her head on the table, forgetting completely about her breakfast.

---

Sibel sat down on her bed and scanned through her computer. She looked at all of her downloaded anime series and movies. She turned on Trigun and started watching it. "Ten minutes, that's all I ask" Sibel smiled as she stared at the computer and started laughing.

"I swear this guy is my role model!"

Nova was dancing on her toes, by the door. "Come on Sibel, we're supposed to meet Lt. Col. Sheppard in the mess hall in five minutes! I WANNA SEE THE REST OF THE CITY!"

"Okay okay. I'm just waiting for my favorite part," Suddenly Sibel jumped into the air in coordination with the show on the computer and started repeating, "Love and PEACE! Love and PEACE! Okay I'm done." She turned off her computer and followed Nova.

Nova jumped merrily, clutching her clipboard to her chest, and checking her hair for her pencil, before dashing down to the eating area.

Sibel rushed after Nova. "After this, I'm working out!"

"Yeah yeah, whatever!" The two arrived to find Sheppard leaning against a wall, just outside the cafeteria doors.

"Ah, right on time!" He said.

Sibel stopped and put her headphone in her ear, "Meditational music."

Nova snatched at Sibel's Mp3 player, and whispered "If you don't knock it off with this thing, I'm gonna break it in half. We have a mission here!" Then, she straightened up, and said "Ready when you are!"

"Sorry, miss moody. I need something to do then," She took out a string, and started wrapping it around her fingers. "Where should we start, Col?"

Nova stared, slightly slack-jawed at Sibel, before rolling her eyes and glancing back up at Sheppard.

Sheppard smiled at the two girls...then frowned as McKay walked up.

"Sheppard," McKay nodded at the two girls, "What is your plan for the moment?"

"Well, I was planning on giving these two a tour of Atlantis, Rodney." Sheppard replied.

"Well, I'll come with you. I can explain the more technological areas."

Sheppard glared but agreed.

Nova narrowed her eyes, and flipped her hair over her shoulder haughtily, staring supposedly intently at her clipboard.

Sibel turned to Nova and whispered, "Do you like him? Because I need to get you a man."

Nova scowled. "That guy? For all I care, he can take his little 'entomologist' joke, and--" The sentence was thankfully interrupted by Sheppard introducing them to a small area of the city.

Suddenly, Ronan and Teyla walked up and asked if they could join the group as well.

Nova excitedly told them to join, as Sheppard huffed, but remained quiet.

Sibel looked around at the group and started chewing on her pen . She whispered to Nova, "I feel very uncomfortable around the human male species. They sort of creep me out. And there are three."

Nova bounced on her toes. "I dunno, I kinda like it. They're so...mysterious! And besides," she giggled. "They're cute!" Her attention shifted back to her clipboard.

"It's called... Maleophobia..."

"Oooh...so...scientific...ish!" Nova took her pencil down and bit the eraser part. "So...how long have you been on Atlantis? And what have you figured out how to use so far?"

"Who are you asking?" Ronan said in his normal low scratchy voice.

Nova shrugged. "Umm...anyone who's qualified to answer...?"

McKay intervened before Sheppard was able to speak, "Well, we've been on Atlantis for over two years now. Teyla has as well. Ronan came to us around a year ago."

Nova scribbled a few things down. "What about the Atlantean equipment? I've heard that it's not exactly your 'basic technology'."

Sibel smacked Nova, "One word, Stargate......"

Nova whined and elbowed Sibel. "If my brain was working right, I would tell you that that is a compound word, technically TWO words. But that is irrelevant at the moment!"

Sibel stuck her tongue out at Nova then turned back to the group. "So... Um.. Where should we go next?" Sibel asked.

"We'll drop by the infirmary to see our friends Dr. Jennifer Keller and Dr. Carson Beckett," McKay replied still not allowing Sheppard to talk. Ronan silently kicked McKay in the back of the knee while they were walking to the infirmary.

Nova couldn't help but smile, already feeling like she was among family members, as the ever-growing group walked into the medical department of Atlantis.

As they continued walking to the infirmary, Sibel sneaked over to Col. Sheppard and asked "So is Dr. McKay always a butt head?"

Sheppard looked at her and simply replied, "I would have used a different word but yes."

"Just wondering." Sibel finished as they walked into the infirmary.

Nova smirked for no reason in particular, and continued to survey her surroundings and write things down. "Some place for an entomologist. Remind me again Sibel, why you brought me here?"

"There's a bug called the Iratus bug which the Wraith evolved from. I thought that you, being an expert, might come in handy." Sibel smirked.

Nova shuddered. "Yeah, my line of duty." She glanced up at Sheppard. "You have any experience with this uh...parasite?" She asked.

"Don't even get me started on that thing," Sheppard replied, "I hate those bugs..."

"He had one attach to his neck when we were new to Atlantis," McKay stated.

"Don't remind me!" Sheppard snapped.

"Ah there you are!" a man with a Scottish accent said as he walked up to the group, joined by a woman.

"Were we being sought out?" Nova inquired, smiling.

Sibel heard a tone in Nova's voice that she hadn't heard for a while and smiled to herself. "Dr. Callimaeve, Dr. Sudenkorento, this is Dr. Carson Beckett and Dr. Jennifer Keller. Doctors, this is Nova and Sibel," Sheppard introduced.

"Nice to meet you!!!" Sibel said as she shook both of their hands. She continued smiling to herself, as she looked at Nova then back at Dr. Beckett. She chuckled a couple times then Dr Beckett said, "Charmed"

Nova smiled crookedly, and then a strange look crossed her face. She leaned close to Sibel. "Who was he, again..? I didn't uh, catch the name."

Sibel giggled uncontrollably for a moment then caught her breath and mimicked Nova's behavior when they met Col. Sheppard, "Nova, don't be silly! This is an important man!" She then whispered, "Dr. Carson Beckett."

Nova elbowed her gently, before realizing the remainder of the team was staring. She averted her gaze to her clipboard. "So...I hear you've made many great medical discoveries since being here on Atlantis! I'd like to hear more!"

Dr. Beckett felt overwhelmed with the simple nervousness of the young girl. "Well, sure! It would be wonderful."

Sibel smiled again then pulled Teyla aside quietly. "Do you see the um.... Chemistry between those two? It's so wonderful for her to have met a guy." Sibel sighed.

"Chemistry, what do you mean?" Teyla asked, still not fluent in all of Earth's strange metaphors. "Um, compatibility. Like that special something between to people," Sibel tried to explain.

"You mean love?" Teyla replied.

"Um... Yes, but in the earlier stages."

"Ah, I see."

Nova tried not to hear the conversation, but threw a sideways glance at Sibel, clutching her pencil weirdly.

Sibel froze and turned around as she giggled uncontrollably again. She drew a deep breath then managed to get out the words, "I'm going to go get some fresh air." She rushed out of the room and out onto an unoccupied balcony with Teyla at her side. Dr. Beckett felt slightly awkward as Col. Sheppard and Ronan made an excuse as well to leave the room, but slightly relieved as well.

Nova clenched her teeth. _Just like Sibel to pull the same leg as me._ She thought, and smiled up at Dr. Beckett. "So...were you here with the original team?" She asked.

"Yes, I was. I was actually part of the expedition before they even came to Atlantis," Dr. Beckett replied. He looked over and realized that Rodney was standing there smiling and listening to the conversation.

"I was there, too!" Rodney informed Nova, no matter how uninterested she was to hear it.

"Ooh!" Nova flipped a couple of pages on her board. "You were also the original expeditioner...the only one with the ancient gene?"

"Yes, me and my medical team were able to create a gene therapy, which we call ATA gene therapy, but it only works on about 48% of those who undergo the procedure," Beckett explained, "Colonel Sheppard and I both have the Ancient gene naturally, but he has a better control over the technology than I do. I almost accidentally shot him down with a drone once!"

Nova laughed, before she realized it wasn't actually funny. "A gene therapy? How does it work?"

"Well, it's simply a needle and some liquid injected into your blood," Beckett began to explain, as he was rudely interrupted by McKay.

"It worked on me, and it's no different than having the gene naturally."

Beckett rolled his eyes.

"Doesn't it have any weird side effects?" Nova asked, curiously flipping through her notes.

Sibel walked into the room still giggling slightly, "Nova it's time for lunch! Remember, your blood sugar..." Sibel smiled as she saw the three talking.

"Well, I suppose we could continue this conversation later." Beckett said slightly disappointed. "I'll come join you!" McKay said as he started walking towards the door.

Nova suddenly realized how shaky she was. "Yeah, I'll talk to you later!" And then mumbled "Curse this hypoglycemia..."

Sibel walked out the door with Nova, "Soooo..." Sibel was quiet for a moment until she made sure nobody else was around. "YOU LIKE HIM DON'T YOU?!" She started, jumping around like a giddy hamster.

Nova couldn't help but smile. "So...what?! It was only my first meeting with the guy! Come on let's get some food, I feel like my hands are gonna fall off!"

"Hehe, you do! But if anyone tries to hurt you or intervene... I'll go praying mantis on them!!!" Sibel brought out her two fingers did a couple of kung-fu moves then hit the wall. She froze for a moment before she said, "I have discovered one of the most unknown secrets of this world.... Fingers cannot break through Atlantean walls." She cringed as she held her two fingers tightly in her other hand.

Nova laughed, walking into the mess hall for the second time that day. "I could go for a nice big sandwich right about now." She said, licking her lips and clutching her clipboard.

"Well, after lunch, I'm going to go work out. That's a promise!" Sibel said as they continued on with their lunch.

"Hehe, I wonder who will win," Sibel said to herself easily in hearing range of her sister.

"Win what?" Nova replied, somewhat knowing but still curious as to what Sibel actually meant.

"Your heart," Sibel snickered.

Nova rolled her eyes and took a big bite of sandwich.

"What? It's not often that we even have the time to socialize," Sibel sat back in her chair and took out a pocket poker game.

"That's true." Nova replied, still chewing her food. She took a drink of water. "Dang, my sandwich is gone already! Be right back!" And she took off again.

Sibel chuckled as we watched the cards appear and disappear again on the screen.

Nova came back, carrying a small tray with another sandwich and a soft drink on it.

Sibel didn't look up. "Watch out behind you." She informed her sister calmly without even watching.

Nova glanced over her shoulder, before pursing her lips and sitting down.

Sheppard was trying to sneak up behind Nova, but was caught. "You mind?" He asked glancing at the table.

"Not a bit!" Nova replied, moving her tray slightly and motioning toward a chair.

Sheppard sat down and looked at Sibel. "What is she doing?"

"I'm exercising my mental capability... DANG IT!" Sibel hit her head against the table.

Nova raised her eyebrows. "She's playing a virtual card game, in short." She murmured.

"One that knows what you are going to do and deliberately tries to foil your plans to destroy it...." Sibel added.

Nova rolled her eyes, and smiled at Sheppard. "So...how's your day been?"

"Well you should know. You two were with me for almost my entire morning."

Nova nodded. "Yes, that is true."

Sibel looked up, fiddled with her hair, then continued playing poker.

Nova kicked her under the table, and confiscated her poker game. She looked at Sibel, and at Sheppard, and back at Sibel again.

"Meanie," Sibel muttered under her breath then crossed her arms. She looked back at Nova, "So, are you done and ready to go work out?" She smiled.

"No, I am NOT done!" Nova growled, taking another bite of her sandwich.

Sibel rolled her eyes. She looked back as she saw Ronan and Teyla walking towards them. She waved and motioned for them to sit down.

"Making friends fast, aren't you?" Sheppard asked, as the two joined the small party.

Sibel looked at the ceiling then realized that she was moving. "WHOA!" She said, as her chair fell backwards. She quickly popped back up, "I'm okay!"

"...You're sure?" Nova asked, before taking another drink of soda.

Sibel snarled then propped her chair back up. She went over to the other side of the table, and put her head and shoulders on Nova. "Am I a weight yet???"

Nova made a face, and whispered "I don't think the way to impress pretty boy is to make yourself look like a monkey...but hey, if that's the way you roll..."

"Please tell me you're done then, I need air!" Sibel said, as she stood up and walked out onto the balcony. "Too bad there isn't any sand. It'd be fun running on the beach."

"But I'm still eating!" Nova protested.

Sibel breathed in the deep ocean air and sighed. She walked back inside slightly more calm but could feel her adrenaline rushing as she felt the sugar and caffeine from that morning take over again.

"How ya doin' over there, Sibel?" Nova called out, finishing off the last of her sandwich.

"Um... I need to get to my room, Nova. I'm having a rush again," Sibel explained as calmly as she could.

Nova stood up and grabbed Sibel by the arm. "No no no no no! I told Sheppard that you'd explain to him what we were working on!"

"Wait, what were we working on? You're confusing me... Are you done? I need to go work out!" Sibel tittered.

Nova giggled. "The Peryton...remember? Why we came here in the first place?"

"Yeah, we don't know how to kill it.... Since they've only been seen in ancient Greek era, we don't know if our weapons could kill it, there's not much else that I can say...."

Nova stared at Sibel for a moment, giving her an "I-don't-care-how-jittery-you-are-I'm-gonna-find-a-reason-for-you-to-talk-to-this-guy" look.

Sibel gave her sister a look back one that said, "Remember who I am, I beat guys that I like up..."

Nova smirked, and shoved Sibel into a chair, before sitting down next to her. Sheppard stared at them both, trying unsuccessfully to decipher their body language.

Sibel suddenly took out a deck of cards out of nowhere and laid them on the table, "Um, let me see," She started shuffling through the deck. She started laying out the cards in the solitaire position but they did not have numbers or kings and queens on them, they had mythical monsters.

Nova stared. "Yeah...I'm gonna go for a walk. You," she pointed to Sibel, "Stay here!" And she stood up, and walked outside.

Sibel rolled her eyes as she started trying to explain to Sheppard the hierarchy within mythical beings. "Dragons are kings, unicorns are queens. Perytons are fives." As she continued she saw Dr. Beckett coming in to take his lunch break.

"Well, hello," he said then looked around, "Where's your friend?"

"Sister," Sibel corrected him.

"I think she went off for a walk." Sheppard said, looking at Sibel out of the corner of his eye.

"Yeah, she went for a walk... She has hypoglycemia, like the butt head coming over right now." Sibel said as she saw Rodney walking over.

Sibel stood up, "Well, I'm going to go find her. I need her to be there when I do my target practice." Sibel ran off to look for her sister.

Nova could be found, leaning over a railing and staring out at the ocean, smiling to herself.

Sibel sneaked up behind her and pinched her on the ribcage, tickling her. "Where'd you go?"

Nova screamed and jumped. "Oh, you! I just went on a little walk...but then I got distracted."

"I can see that," Sibel laughed. "Well, Beckett's in there for his lunch break. What do you want to do?"

Nova opened her mouth, and then closed it again. She looked out at the ocean, and then back at her sister. "I think I want to continue my walk, maybe..." She said, quietly, fiddling with her hair.

Sibel gave Nova a right-you-just-want-to-be-alone look. "Well, you can come with me and walk around in circles, while I practice and meditate!" Sibel grabbed Nova by the arm and started walking off.

Nova groaned, but was cooperative...after all, she'd put off Sibel's exercises far too long.

Sibel continued to drag Nova towards their living quarters. When they got there, Sibel immediately started changing into her Martial Arts practice. The outfit simply consisted of one that you would find at a Karate class, but it was made of less fabric and was a dark red. It had a tank top that had a dragon/unicorn yin-yang symbol on the back. You could see Sibel's dragon tattoo that went around her shoulders and down around her arms. The dragon looked as though it was alive, and slithered around and strangled biceps.

Nova spun around and sat down at the computer, while Sibel continued practicing. She talked and hummed to herself continuously...and before they knew it, dinner had rolled around.

Sibel changed her clothes again and started walking with Nova to dinner. They giggled as they hummed in tune with each other "Somewhere over the Rainbow."

They took a couple trays, and sat down at a table together.

Sibel sat down right next to Nova at the end of the table so Nova couldn't put her and Sheppard next to each other.

Nova glanced around the cafeteria, seeing everyone from their earlier tour gathering for food. "Must be time to get off work." She whispered.

Suddenly, Sibel saw Col. Carter walk into the room. She watched as Carter gathered up a food tray of her own and sat across from the two girls. "Hello. How was your girls first day in Atlantis?"

"Wonderful!" Nova said, spryly, and took a bite of her sandwich.

Sibel smiled as she saw Sheppard and Teyla come walking towards their table. She turned back to Carter and smiled. "Definitely wonderful! I couldn't find the training room or whatever you call it here though, so I just practiced in my quarters."

"Practiced what?" Carter asked curiously.

"Tai Chi Quan. Before this, I was a trainer at a local dojo."

"She does martial arts." Nova said, shortly, as Sheppard and Teyla sat down as well.

"Yup! I've been training since I was a little kid. Our grandpa was a professional martial artist. Nova knows karate," Sibel said not realizing that Sheppard and Teyla sat down.

"Yeah, but I'm not nearly as good as she is." Nova stated.

"Oh, hey! I didn't realize you two sat down," Sibel exclaimed sort of embarrassed.

"We were listening to your conversation," Sheppard smiled.

"Martial arts? What is that?" Teyla asked politely.

"Martial arts? It's um...it's...a form of fighting!" Nova said, and took another bite of food.

"Well," Sibel started. "Technically, martial arts are systems of codified practices and traditions of training for combat. But there are tons of different types. For each different cultures."

Nova nodded, looking around the table, quietly.

Sibel smiled even wider when she saw Beckett coming towards the table. Sibel giggled as he sat across from Nova.

Nova smiled and looked down at the table, and took another bite, preventing herself from bumbling speech.

Sibel nudged Nova's leg under the table and gave her a look. When she offered a stare in return, "So, Beckett! What do you know about bugs?"

Nova slunk down. "Yeah, bugs." She muttered.

Beckett looked slightly surprised, "Well, not a lot unless they have to do with medical conditions."

"Ah, well, I don't know too much myself besides the fact that a friend of mine got bit on the butt by a brown recluse. Nova's the expert!" Sibel said trying to start a conversation.

"Oh yeah, I know all about bugs! Big ones, small ones, you name it, I know it! Well, I mean out here, I probably don't. But from the bugs on Earth, I..." She let her voice trail off, her face turning slightly pink.

Beckett smiled, appreciating her response, "Have you heard about the Iratus bug?"

"Well, I've heard a bit about it...but I really don't know that much."

"It's basically what the wraith evolved from. I really hope you never have to meet a wraith either." Beckett explained.

"Whoa.... Creepy..." Sibel murmured. She looked over at Nova.

Nova shuddered. "Yeah, me too! I don't know how long we intend to be here...how often to you have encounters?" It would appear that she'd gotten over her jittery-ness...or at least, the part of it that affected her speech.

"More than we would like," Sheppard replied not sure who the question was directed at.

Nova stared at the table, quietly, and then glanced up at Sibel, lost.

"Well, if I meet a wraith, I know to run...." Sibel said.

"Or an Iratus bug, from what I've heard." Nova mumbled.

"Well, we are planning to travel to a new planet that looks completely uninhabited," Carter started. "And we're planning on sending you two there with a normal group."

"Really?" Nova piped, brightening.

"Cool!" Sibel exclaimed.

Sibel suddenly had a burst of energy, "Oh my goodness! I need to go for a run, would you like to come with me, Nova?"

Nova groaned. "A run, Sibel?"

"Yup! If you don't want to come, Ronan?" She said, knowing that Ronan was the type of guy that runs.

Ronan looked up from his plate. "Yeah?"

"Would you like to come with me? I need to get rid of the giant tube of ice cream I hate this morning." Sibel explained.

"Sure." He replied, in his usual tone. Nova stuffed more food in her mouth, and took a drink of pop.

"McKay would you like to come too?!?! You look like you need to work out a little bit more! You know I had an uncle like you once," Sibel continued bouncing around like a Chibi character.

McKay glared at Sibel. "Actually, I'd like to finish my supper, if you don't mind."

"Sheppard, you want to come too?" Sibel said, still as excited as a honeybee.

"Uhhh yeah, sure." Sheppard replied, setting his napkin down on his plate.

Sibel stared at Nova and whispered in her ear, "Have fun in the love triangle!" Then she walked out with Ronan and Sheppard.

Teyla smiled. "You know, I'm feeling like a walk myself." She said, sweetly. She stood up slowly, and walked outside. Nova watched her leave, and then looked at Sibel and smiled.

Sibel looked back and winked, then she walked out with the two men.

There were a few moments of silence. "So...it's been a nice day." Nova said.

"Yes...so what is that you know about bugs? You could probably help me greatly on the habits of the Iratus bug." Beckett asked.

"Well, bugs are pretty easy." She said. "When I learn a bit more about it...it'll be like predicting a sci-fi show!"

"Deary, it's like we're in a sci-fi show," Beckett chuckled in his normal Scottish accent.

McKay, jealous of the two getting along so well, said " Except, in this we can actually die."

Nova laughed quietly. "You think you feel like that now...should have seen when Sibel and I first boarded the Deadalus."

"So you and your sister seem very close, can she be difficult at times?" Beckett asked trying to start up a conversation about something pleasant.

Nova giggled. "Well...yes...she tends to eat all the ice cream, and then force me to work out because she feels guilty about the carbs. But usually, I'm the irritating one."

While Nova spoke, Sibel could feel an impulse about somebody talking about her and froze. Then continued on with her train of thought. Sibel and the two men walked up the stairway to the hangar and stopped at the bridge.

Sheppard leaned against the bridge railing, and stared out at the ocean's lapping waves.

Sibel stretched out her arms a little bit and cracked her neck. "Are you two ready?" She looked at the men with large puppy dog eyes.

"Yeah...I don't run much...but I'll try to keep up." Sheppard said, stretching his arms over his head.

Sibel sat down and stretched out her legs then stood back up. She looked at Ronan, and he nodded.

Suddenly, Sibel took off running. The two men caught up with her and they continued with their nice little workout.

"So, you're an anthropologist, and you're sister is..?" Beckett asked, enjoying the conversation.

"Entomologist." Nova said, smiling. "Sibel is a mythologist...well actually, she knows a lot of things...but her main expertise it mythology. You're...the team's head surgeon?" She asked.

"I'm the lead medical doctor. Dr. Keller is now my assistant. Something happened not too long ago where I disappeared then I came back so...so you study bugs in particular and your sister is just a mythologist, or a zoologist as well?" Beckett replied.

"She's a zoologist, and a bit of a scientist, too! Although, her last experiment was...well, she's mostly just a mythologist and a zoologist." Nova glanced at the playing cards that Sibel had left on the table, and laughed quietly to herself.

As they reached the end of the bridge for the second time they all paused. Sibel caught her breath rather quickly. "Man, who knew that living in mountainous area would allow me to breath so much better here," she thought to herself.

Ronan had easily kept up, but Sheppard was still several paces behind, panting heavily. "You run well." Ronan commented. "Yeah, I was just thinking that..." Sheppard said.

"Well, considering that I have hominophobia, I have to run a LOT more then I would like to." Sibel replied.

Sheppard stared at her, once he'd caught up. "Fear of what, might I ask?"

"The male species. Sort of pathetic actually, but that's what happens sometimes." She explained calmly.

The two men were quiet for a few moments, as regular city activity could be heard around them.

"Actually... I have many other phobias, like lygophobia, lockiophobia, methyphobia, just to name a couple." Sibel looked over the railing. "What's going on down there?"

Deciding it was better not to ask, Sheppard focused on Sibel's latter statement. "Oh, the usual...scientists arguing, people doing such-and-such."

"Well, that's fun," Sibel said then turned back. "Ready to go for another run?" she asked calmly. She then looked back over the railing, "Hey! I see Dr. McKay!"

Ronan rolled his eyes, but was smiling subtly.

"Or would you two rather spar?" She said trying to come up with another solution to working out.

"Sparring would be nice." Sheppard said, still slightly out-of-breath. "I mean, not nice...but better than running."

"Alright then, I will meet you two in the sparring room, I'm going to go get my uniform!" Sibel said as she started running back to her room.

"So...what made you decide to go in to medicine?" Nova asked, her nervousness growing by the second...particularly after Dr. McKay had left.

"Well, I hate watching people suffer and die, so I wanted to prevent that. That's what made me want to be a doctor." Beckett replied, feeling just as nervous and Nova looked.

"Yeah...I could never be a doctor. Too much pressure!" She sighed, with her hands on the table.

Beckett looked at his watch, "Well, I better get back to my shift in the infirmary. Why don't you drop by later?" Beckett said as he stood up.

Nova stood up too, bumping the table clumsily. "Uhh...yeah, okay!" She said, and laughed sheepishly. "I'll see you then?"

"Alrighty!" Beckett walked out as Sibel walked in with her uniform on. "Nova! I'm heading to the sparring room with Ronan and Sheppard, do you want to watch?"

"YES! Um, yeah!" Nova lowered her tone a bit, pink still flushing her cheeks. "Wait--are you gonna fight both of them at once?"

"Ha, I doubt it. But if I do, it will be fun," Sibel chuckled. "I have to remember to aim my hits higher with Ronan," she laughed, "He's so tall!"

"Pshh he's not that tall!" Nova said, waving her hand. She stopped. "Well, maybe, he is...oh whatever. My brains are all scrambled." She picked up her tray, and tossed her trash into the trashcan. "I wanna see this!"

Sibel put on her official Atlantis team jacket while she walked with Nova towards the sparring room.


	4. Chapter 4

The two arrived in the small room, after passing through several of Atlantis' wide corridors.

"Yeesh, this place is humongous!" Nova commented. She squinted. "And a little chilly, too. Hi Colonel! Hey Ronon!"

Ronan stared at the two girls as they walked up worrying about both of their fighting skills. "There you are!" Colonel Shepperd replied to Nova's hello. "You two ready?" Sibel turned to Nova and saw her squint.

Nova took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Maybe. I haven't sparred in...well, since Sibel left the Dojo for mythology." She opened her eyes and glanced over at Sibel, smirking. They were both better at fighting than Ronon or Sheppard could have guessed.

"That really was a long time ago, wasn't it? Strange..." Sibel said as they entered the sparring room and took off her Stargate team jacket. She then took out some fingerless leather fighting gloves. She looked back at Nova, who was staring at her.

"I didn't think you even still had those." Nova whispered, then mischievously pulled out her own pair, black suede. "Guess I'm not ten steps ahead of you after all." She cracked all eight of her fingers simultaneously, followed by her neck and back, then began stretching out her leg muscles.

"Well, it's not as though I was bitten by a radioactive spider," Sibel chuckled as she began stretching. She bent all the way backwards and came back up. "Nova, would you like to start or me?" She began pulling her hair back into a neat ponytail.

Nova pursed her lips, glanced at Sheppard, smiled, and said "No, I think you should start. I've got a gut feeling. You know the one."

Sibel smiled and stretched back one more time as she watched Shepperd take off his team jacket. "How long ago did I leave my Dojo, Nova?" Sibel giggled.

Nova's smirk turned into a wicked grin. "Mmmm...about four weeks ago." Then added, under her breath, "Before we boarded the Daedalus and were stranded for three weeks..."

"That was terrible... I hate spaceships, they make me eat too much ice cream," Sibel said as she stepped into her basic Tai Chi fighting position with one arm in front and the other in back. She clenched her fists then then relaxed them flat. She smiled as Shepperd got into his fighting position then they began to spar, dodging and blocking each others punches and kicks.

Nova sat down next to Ronon, and watched the practice fight. "Pretty impressive, no?" Sitting down, her and Ronon came eye-to-eye.

Ronon shrugged. "She's not bad."

Sibel bent backward as she dodged a punch. She bent her hands backwards quickly and flipped over. She then threw three punches and a back-kick in perfect synchronization as she had been taught. The sweat was flying off of her brow as she did not know how long they had been sparring. He blocked very quickly and had practiced often so far as she could tell.

Thirty minutes, to be exact, Nova thought, looking at her watch. She sighed, boredom beginning to take a hold. Sheppard didn't look like he'd hold up much longer; his defense was getting sloppy, and his attack weaker. Sibel, on the other hand, looked perfectly peachy. Aside from the fact that she was dripping with sweat and had a maniacle glaze to her eye.

Sibel's thought pattern was starting to race, not sure what to do next she let Shepperd force her to come closer to the wall. She ran towards the wall kicked it and tackled Shepperd to the ground. Holding his wrists down, she knew that the fight was over, for now. She smiled as she let go of one of his wrists to brush some loose hair out of her face.

"YES! Sibel, YES!" Nova was up on her feet, screaming and clapping like it was a show or something. Ronon looked confused by Nova's behavior, and Sheppard was, for the moment, at a loss for words. He was sure he'd done that maneuver a million times before, successfully, how had she...

Sibel stood up, "That was fun!" She reached out her hand to help Shepperd up. As she helped him up she couldn't resist staring at Nova who was clapping and screaming like crazy.

Nova realized that she was causing a scene, and cleared her throat. "Sorry. Just been so long since I've seen you kick somebody's butt. It's refreshing!" With the word 'refreshing', she stretched her arms way over her head, then sighed and put them back at her sides. "Gosh, ya get stiff watching a 30 minute spar, sitting on a hard floor."

"30 minutes?! Really?" Sheppard asked as him and Sibel looked at each other. Sibel simply shrugged as she took off her gloves. She walked over and sat down on the floor. "Your turn Nova!" Sibel exclaimed.

Sheppard all but collapsed next to Sibel, bravado being the only thing that kept him from moaning in pain. Nova's expression had been exact; he'd gotten his but kicked.

Nova walked into the middle of the room, facing Ronon. He was at least twice her weight, but no more than two inches taller than her. 'I can take him,' She assured herself, though she was sure her insecurity showed. She was really more clumsy than she was dangerous.

Sibel watched Nova seeing her slightly insecure look on her face. She turned her head and noticed that Shepperd was staring at her. When he realized that they were both staring at each other, they looked away. she turned back to Nova and yelled, "Aller aller aller!!!"

Nova perked up, as a wave of adrenaline hit all of her veins at once. With barely enough thought to strategy to keep her from, oh, say, dying, she attacked the burly man, attempting first to kick his legs from underneath him.

Sibel watched quietly so as not to distract her dear sister. She watched as the fight progressed becoming more violent by the second. She knew that Nova could protect herself physically just fine, but she hoped that if she did lose - which was nearly impossible - that she wasn't damaged mentally. She smiled as she thought of her victory and how Nova would look when she did beat the large man.

Sheppard actually looked somewhat nervous. "Is she always that...violent?" He asked, quietly.

Sibel looked at him with wide eyes, "You have no freaking idea. If you ever watched her play WarRock, maybe then you'd understand..."

Sibel's comments about the video game were confirmed by Nova's sudden "Die, DIE!" Then a movement so fast, it was barely visible. Ronon found his face pressed up against the wall, his right arm twisted so far behind his back, it looked like it might snap off. Nova was breathing, heavily, several wet, sweaty strands of dark hair clinging to her face.

Sibel jumped up, "Nova, you can let him go now. He's not an evil space warlord from Buzz Lightyear." Sibel watched as her sister pressed Ronan firmly against the wall.

Nova continued to breath through clenched teeth, then realized what she was doing. She jumped back, letting Ronon free. "Sorry." She mumbled, pushing her hair out of her face--only to have it fall back. A smile crept across her face.

"Well done, my young.... um... I was thinking about saying grasshopper but you'd probably tackle me... How about... Praying Mantis," Sibel said to her sister as she watched her help Ronon up.

Nova smiled. "Thank you, master Sibel." She looked at Ronon--who looked shocked and somewhat appalled. "Don't worry, big guy. My cousin in the marine corps once told me that I have, um...well, I forget what level hand-to-hand he said I have, but he said it was a good thing."

"Try six?!" Sheppard said, standing up as well.

"Nah, five." Nova replied, then paused. "Well, I was only 16 at the time..."

Sibel giggled then looked at Nova in the eyes, "I want a cookie." She grabbed her jacket and walked out of the sparring room.

In the mess hall, the two girls giggled quietly to each other over a small tray of desserts.

Nova took a bit of jello, swallowed, and then said "Soooo..."

"Soooo what, Mrs. I beat Ronan Dex?" Sibel chuckled to herself as they sat alone at the table.

Nova smirked. "Soooo...you and the colonel? Hmm...?" She took another bite. "I sense sparkage."

"Uh huh. Well you're the one who's in a sparkage triangle" Sibel giggled, "I will admit, he's very good looking." She watched Sheppard walk into the mess hall then immediately turned when they caught each other's eyes.

Nova giggled again. "Sparkage triangle? That's new. And how do you mean? And yes, he is very good looking. And a nice guy." She took another bite of jello.

"Let's see... First there's the out-there-Rodney McKay. Then there's the sweet and Scottish Carson Beckett," Sibel smirked then nearly froze when the three whom they had spoken about walked up to the table, "Whoa... creeepy."

Nova smiled. "Creepy in the good kind of way."

"What is?" Sheppard asked, looking slightly confused.

Nova raised her eyebrows and shook her head. "Oh, nothing." Sibel giggled as the three all sat down.

"Nova, I have some Iratus bug specimens in the Infirmary if you would like to take a look at them with me later," Beckett began, "Sibel you can come too if you'd like." Sibel's eyes opened wide, and she shook her head violently.

"Iratus bugs are worse than bees... and you do not want to know what happens when a bee is in the room with me."

McKay got a funny look on his face, as him and John exchanged glances. Nova was suddenly not-so-overly-confident.

"Um, yeah, that would be perfect! It'd give me a good start, at least." She said.

"Um, Colonel Sheppard?" Sheppard looked at Sibel. "You aren't allowed to have pets here, right?" Sibel asked.

"Um... No. Why do you ask?"

"Heh, no reason, I was just curious," Sibel said as she stood up, "Well, I'm going to go change, I'm still sweaty from sparring." Sibel ran away from the table and back to Nova's and her's room.

The table suddenly felt very crowded to Nova, the three men sitting awkwardly, waiting for someone else to start a conversation. Nova cleared her throat. "You know, I'm a little hot myself, I'll be back in five. Don't go away!" She zipped away from the table, and was at the door to hers and Sibel's quarters within moments.

Sibel hid the small crate as she heard the door open. "Um.. Hi," Sibel smiled sheepishly as she kept the crate hidden behind her.

"Sibel..." Nova had that 'mother who knows what you're up to' tone about her. "What did you do? Who did you bring?"

Sibel frowned as she closed the door and opened the crate so that Nova could see. Inside, were two baby kittens.

Nova groaned, loudly. "Si-bel-la!" She glanced back inside the crate, then up at her sister. "How do you expect to keep them hidden? They're kittens. They need special love and attention!"

"I know!!! That's why I brought them!!! It will educate them about other universes... you know?" She took the two kittens out and set them on her bed. They began wrestling with each other and fumbling over the covers. "How could I have possibly left them! They're kittens! We just got them and they're barely two weeks old. They're just too sweet to leave back on that evil smelly earth!" Sibel sat down and picked up her kitten whom she hadn't named yet.

Nova stared, at first maliciously, at the playful bundles on the bed. Then, she broke. "Well, all right, if you say so." She then sat down and picked up the other kitten, giggling as it batted at her loose hair.

"I don't know what to name my kitten yet, Nova. There are so many names and choices!" Sibel whined as she pet the cute kitten's ears. She looked at Nova whom was playing with her kitten. "What do you think I should name it? Or how should I name it?"

Nova stared a minute. "...how about, after like, some Indian spirit or something? I heard a really cool name just the other day..."

"What name? I'm simply curious," Sibel stared at the ceiling for a moment then her eyes opened wide as she stared at the wall, "I know what I'm going to name her..."

"T'akaya!" Nova shot, then realized that she'd interrupted. She cleared her throat. "What are you gonna name her?"

"Pretzel!" She said as pet the cute lightly speckled tabby. She looked at Nova, "What are you going to name yours?"

"I...don't know." Nova stared, and then smiled. "Mittens. Look, she's got three mittens!...How is it that black cats always have three black socks, and one black foot? Have you noticed that?"

"I have, it's very odd!!" Sibel jumped as she heard the loud beep meaning that someone was at her and Nova's door. "What do we do?!"

"Um, uh, THE BATHROOM!" Nova shot up off of the bed. Her head violently slammed into the top bunk. "G--OW!" She moaned, then grabbed Pretzel and and Mittens, and dashed toward the small bathroom.

Sibel wiped off her clothes trying to rid them of the cat hair. She quickly rushed over to the door hoping that Nova had hid them well. She opened the door and saw Colonel Sheppard standing in front of her. "Oh.. Um. Hello!" Sibel said nervously and slightly shocked.

A muffled "Shh, no, get under there!" Came from the bathroom, then Nova came out, closing the door behind her. "Ahh, Sibel, I couldn't find it."

"Oh really? Um.. Darn," Sibel said trying to calm herself down.

Sheppard gave them both an odd look before he spoke, "What were you looking for?"

Sibel stared at him with wide eyes then spit out, "Feminine care!"

"Products! Yes, nothing for you to worry about." Nova cleared her throat. "Well, Dr. Beckett invited me to have a look at a specimen, I'd better be going alright ciao!" She pushed past Colonel Sheppard, smiling sheepishly, and was gone.

"_Dag nabit_!" Sibel thought to herself, then spoke aloud to the Colonel, "Did you need something, Colonel Sheppard? Um... I mean, John. If you don't mind, it's simply easier to say!"

"You kind of ran out of the mess hall and left your notebook behind," He replied as he held it out to her.

She took it lightly, "Thank you."

"You're welcome." John replied. He was silent for a few moments, obviously lost for words, but still standing in the doorway anyway.

Sibel smiled shyly and her and the colonel sat quietly for who knows how long. Sibel's eyes opened widely as she saw Nova's kitten start to sneak past Colonel Shepperd. She turned around and saw the bathroom door open.

"Are you alright?" John asked concerned.

"Um, um... no!!!" Sibel lunged for Nova's cat and picked it up, she pushed the Colonel into the room and closed the door behind him. She picked up the other kitten who was clawing at her leg and she set them both on the bed.

John stumbled into the room under Sibel's forceful grasp, then glanced at the two tiny animals on the bed. "This is...why you were asking me...?"

"Yes..." Sibel said quietly waiting for John's disapproval. She saw him look at the kittens then glance back at her.

John wasn't sure what to say. "That's..." But before he could speak, he turned to the side and sneezed. He sniffed. "..I'm a little allergic."

Sibel's eyes opened wide, "I'm sorry I didn't know! I just couldn't leave them at home all alone! We just got them a few days before we came here!" Sibel flounced on the bed and set Pretzel in her lap. She stroked the small kitten but stayed quiet afraid that someone else might hear the conversation from the outside.

John sat down next to Sibel and stroked Mittens, hesitantly. "They're..." he shrugged. "Cute..."

Sibel looked at him, "You won't tell anyone? Even though you're not supposed to have pets on Atlantis?"

He smiled. "Nah, I think we can keep this our own little secret." He looked up at Sibel.

Sibel was ready to cry but didn't, "Thank you!" she nearly screamed. She gave him a hug then picked up Mittens. She put the two kittens back into their box and they started playing with each other. She sighed and decided to go see what Nova was up to, and to tell her sister about the incident that just occurred. Sibel blushed at the thought of a powerful man like the Colonel keeping her secret.

Nova was found looking at bug pieces through a magnifying glass in a small lab several hundred yards away from the girl's quarters. Dr. Beckett was sitting at the table across from her, pointing at various things and voicing his thoughts. Nova heard footsteps and looked up. "Oh, hey Sibel!" She smiled. "This is amazing, you wouldn't believe all of the medical discoveries these little crawly guys provided!"

"Really? May I give it a look!" Sibel said as she walked over. Nova scooted to the side a little so her sister could see, and saw John come in behind Sibel and smile. "Whoa! Tubular, man," Sibel said as she stepped away from the counter.

Nova laughed. "Totally. Hi colonel!" She looked back through the glass, and poked at the bug a little with a pair of tweezers, then wrote in her memo pad, muttering to herself.

Sibel whispered into Nova's ear, "Mittens caused some trouble while you were gone." Sibel motioned with her head over to John who was smiling at the two girls.

Nova's expression changed. She glanced up at John, questioningly. He winked, then gave Sibel a pat on the back. "Well, I'd better tend to some things. See you guys later." And he jogged away.

Sibel blushed when John touched her back. She bent over and whispered into Nova's ear again, "He says it's our little secret." Sibel saw Nova et a funny smile on her face, "What?!" Sibel said as she backed up a little bit.

"Nooothin'." She looked at Sibel, then back at the bug. Her expression twisted. "Doctor, where did you find this specimen," she poked a different carcass with her tweezers. "And where'd you find this one?"

"Well," he began with his adorable Scottish accent, "We found it on one of the dark wet planets. It was one a strange looking flower that glowed green."

"Whoa, seriously?!" Sibel said as she took out her notebook.

"And the other one?" Nova asked, glancing back and forth. "I'm just wondering, because they have a slight physical difference." She pushed the magnifying glass forward. "See the way the thorax connects to the abdomen on this one?" She switched the specimens. "Now look at this one."

"Yes.. I'm not sure what it means though," He said as he walked away to document it. "Nova, what kind of bug does that look like to you..." Sibel asked nervously awaiting her sister's answer.

Nova squinted. "...it's...a bug. It looks like a parasitic beetle...rhino...thing. What does it look like to you?"

"Honestly, I don't know. Maybe it's just that all bugs creep me out," Sibel said as she backed into Rodney McKay. She quacked like a duck and fell over. Rodney jumped.

Nova looked up. "Hi Dr. McKay." She said, smiling. "Care to look at these Iratus bug samples that Dr. Beckett's letting me study?"

Sibel looked at her sister then looked at the samples. "Could that little difference mean gender Nova?" she asked as Rodney McKay returned the hello.

Nova squinted again. "No, this is the gender difference, here." She pointed again with the tweezers."

Rodney looked through the glass. "I don't see any difference."

Nova rolled her eyes. "I've been studying bugs for six years. That makes me an expert."

Sibel giggled when she heard Nova dis Rodney. She looked around and saw Radek Zelenka walk in. She hadn't met him yet but she heard that he was second next to Rodney McKay. She decided to introduce herself after she was done watching Nova. She could have sworn that Nova was going to hit Rodney in the arm or leg for his ignorance.

"Well, sor-ry. Why does it matter, anyway?" Rodney asked, scowling.

Nova gritted her teeth, the muscles in her jaw visibly flexing. "Why does anything matter? Because it's the study of something, and when you study something, all the details matter. Especially gender. It helps me determine the differences in behavior."

"Don't all bugs act the same?"

"Rodney! I need your help with something." Zelenka cut in before Nova could get an answer out.

McKay rolled his eyes. "Radek, yes. Don't you always? What?"

Radek scowled at him, "I found an odd reading on another planet. Oh are you looking at the Iratus bug samples?" Radek asked as he walked over.

"Yes, we are, and it shouldn't matter," Rodney said.

"Actually, it does, I need Miss Sudenkorento and Miss Callimaeve to come as well. The readings are coming from the planet that we found these samples." Radek replied. Sibel smiled widely and nearly squealed when she and Nova looked at each other.

"Does this mean we get to go off-world?!" Sibel asked.

"Yes." Zelenka told them. "Colonel Sheppard is getting the extra gear right now."

"O-M-G!" Sibel nearly screamed as she ran out of the room to her and Nova's quarters. She ran into the room and got out her Stargate Command computer. It would be the first time that she got to see the universe. The only planet that she had visited was Earth, and the one that Atlantis rested on now.

Nova followed shortly, grabbing at her jacket, which she had yet to wear. "DUDE! This is so exciting! Off-world, after being cooped up here for...THREE WHOLE DAYS!" she paused. "Actually, that's not very long..." She shrugged, and pulled her jacket on. "The sleeves are too short." She mumbled.

Sibel nearly fell over again as Colonel Sheppard appeared at the door. She noticed that he looked very stunning in his off-world gear. Nova gave her sister a smug look.

Colonel Sheppard handed the girls a set of tactical vests. "I'm assuming you've both handled a basic firearm before..." He said, hesitantly handing over a set of AR-15s. "Both of these vests have extra 40-round clips in them, and they're loaded. You are not to fire unless necessary. Got it so far?"

Nova nodded, gracefully slipping the tact. vest on and slinging the gun carefully around her shoulders. "My dad carried an AR-15 from the day I was twelve. And he wasn't shy about letting me use it." She slid the clip in and cocked the gun, then turned the safety on.

Sibel stared at her sister, "Yeah, you nearly shot my ear off!" Sibel slipped into her own as well. After the two girls were ready, they followed Colonel Shepperd to the Jumper Room. "Ooooo, cool." Sibel said as she looked around the large room. She began humming Somewhere Over The Rainbow when everyone was there and about to get into the Puddle Jumper.

Nova grinned and hummed along with Sibel, glancing around at the team.

Sibel giggled then looked at Nova, "Imagine how Rob would feel if he saw you here right now," Sibel tried to laugh quietly but began squeaking. She covered her mouth then stared at Nova who looked like she was about to burst up laughing as well, thus making Sibel have a giggle-fit.

Nova couldn't help herself; Sibel's giggle fit made her laugh. She followed the rest of the team onto the jumper; Colonel Sheppard, of course, Ronon, Rodney, Zelenka, and the obvious Sibel and Nova. She was surprised that many people could even fit into the jumper, let alone that the tiny little thing could fly like that.

Sibel looked around the puddle jumper as they flew towards the gate room. She was so excited to visit a new planet she could barely contain herself. Then she looked at Colonel Sheppard as they went through the open gate. They emerged onto a dark, damp planet.

Nova grabbed Sibel's arm, as the light from the gate disappeared and the darkness enveloped them. She was both excited and terrified, as girls often are.

The next thing they knew, Nova and Sibel were exiting the puddle jumper into the dark world. Sibel and Nova looked around, both of them trained their eyes to see better in darkness, "Thank you Vitamins A and D!" Sibel thought aloud.

Nova shuddered. "It's cold," She mumbled. "Have you been here before?" She pulled her jacket closer to her body. Dark, chilly dampness ebbed into the group, and everyone was feeling it's effects.

"Only once, but it wasn't a pleasant visit," Colonel Sheppard shrugged remembering the time he was nearly transformed into an Iratus bug/human hybrid. Sibel looked around and saw a pretty purple flower. She ran over and stared at it.

As Nova's eyes adjusted better to the dimness, she found she could see her own breath. "It's probably necessary, if this planet has a lot of bugs on it, then it makes sense; Insects need cool damp places to pupate." She took her hair down out of it's bun and shook it around her neck and shoulders, making for more insulation. "What'd you find, Sibel?" She asked. McKay leaned his back against the Jumper, arms crossed, while Sheppard followed Nova over to where Sibel was crouched, and Ronon just stood, bored.

"Preeeetty," Sibel stared then looked around, "Whoa. This place is crazy," she said as she looked at the dark sky, "What happened last time you were here?" Sibel asked Colonel Sheppard.

The Colonel shifted his weight on his feet. "Well, I ran into a virus that...kinda...changed me."

"Physically, you mean." Nova cut in.

John stared at her. "Beckett tell ya that?"

Nova smiled and shook her head. "No, I've been reading mission reports. Since Landry got us involved...or, since Sibel got us involved, really. Started all the way back at the first time the 'gate was opened in the 1945." She said, smiling.

"...and you remember all this?"

Nova's smile grew. "Well, I'm a scientist. We have a special knack of sorts for remembering things." She turned to Sibel. "Clues?"

Sibel looked around, "Well, Radek said that there was strange readings... You people should search for those readings while Nova and I should document some of the plants. Some bugs are attracted to certain plants so..." Sibel looked at Sheppard who looked somewhat worried.

"You sure you two are gonna be okay?" He asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

Nova put one hand on the barrel of her gun. "Please. Just because we're scientists, and just because we're female, doesn't mean that we need military at our backs on a strange, dark, insect-infested planet!"

"What she said!" Sibel said gently holding her large dragon necklace, "No matter how much I hate bugs..." She looked over at Ronon, who was staring at everyone but keeping silent, "Is he okay?" she asked John.

"He always does that," John replied, in a low tone.

"Oh," Sibel walked really close to Ronon, stood on her tip toes and stared at him. He took one finger and pushed her forehead away. She smiled then grabbed Nova's arm and was about to walk away with her sister off into the forest.

Nova glanced over at the bored astrophysicist leaning against the puddle jumper, Rodney, then at Ronon, and then proceeded to walk away with Sibel. "Have fun, boys!" She called over her shoulder, then turned away watch her step. When the two were out of ear shot, Nova's smile turned into a giant smirk of death. "Ravishing when they're all dressed up, no?" She asked, throwing her glance over at the growing-smaller Colonel Sheppard.

Sibel giggled loudly, "Just plain sexy you mean!" She laughed. The two began having fun talking about the adventure they were having. They found different plants of all shapes and sizes. Sibel wasn't watching where she was going and slipped. She quacked as she fell over and then looked at what she slipped on. It was a large pile of orange goop, larger than the ones that Rodney had described in the puddle jumper.

"Ewwwww!" Nova groaned, stepping back, then forward again to help Sibel up. What do you suppose that--" She paused when she heard a throaty clicking-rattling sound. It sounded suspiciously like beetle wings. Giant, beetle wings.

"Um, what was that?!" Sibel said as she looked around nervously clutching onto her sister.

"I don't know," Nova replied, equally as nervous.

Sibel grabbed for her flashlight and flipped it on. An Iratus bug at least TWICE the size of the ones that Dr. Beckett had shown them was scuttling toward them.

"O-M-G O-M-G O-M-G!" Nova shrieked, as the two panicked.

"What do we do?!" Sibel asked.

"Um, scream?"

"We already did that!"

"Um...um...RUN!"

Sibel and Nova began running through the forest as quickly as they could. Nova was trying to get the rest of the team on the radio but the strange energy readings that Zelenka had discovered earlier must have been interfering. "I can't contact the team!"

"Just keep running then!" Sibel yelled to her sister. She heard Nova stumble and she stopped immediately. She ran over to her sister.

"Oh, crap! Ow! I think I sprained my ankle!" Nova exclaimed.

Sibel looked around nervously then helped her sister up. "What are we supposed to do?! I don't think that they heard us scream! How do they follow prey, Nova?!"

"God, I don't know!" Nova replied, standing up and limping. The scuttling grew louder. "I think they just chase it!" She screamed, clutching Sibel's jacket so hard her knuckles were white. "JOHN! RODNEY! RONON!" She used her loudest voice, limping as fast as she could away from the sound of little insect feet as it grew closer.

Sibel looked around and saw a large rock; she helped Nova as quickly as possible limp over to the rock and hide behind it. They were sitting on the ground breathing as quietly as possible. Sibel looked around the rock and saw nothing. She sighed then felt a tug on her shoulder. She turned back and saw the Iratus bug right in front of the two girls. They both screamed as though they were in a horror movie when they heard gun shots. The bug was dead now and John was gasping about 20 feet away from running. "Holy crap, we must have screamed really loud, Nova."

Colonel Sheppard finally arrived at the rock, panting. "I won't, because I didn't." He said. Rodney was shortly behind.

"You know," John panted. "You are armed. You could have done that yourself."

"We're fine, thanks." Nova said, glaring. She glanced over at Sibel, who was as white as a ghost. Rodney also arrived at their position.

"What the hell happened?" He asked, looking like he expected to see dead people everywhere.

"Oh my gosh... my worst fear just came true. I giant man eating bug just chased my sister and I through the forest and she sprained her ankle.... worst luck ever," Sibel said as she tried to stand up. She touched the rock and felt strange grooves in it. She turned around and looked at it.

"You sprained your ankle?" Rodney asked, sounding intrigued, and Nova was irritated at the lack of concern in his voice.

"Yes, it's a bad habit that I have while running in the dark." She turned around and looked at the rock, too.

"Oh for Pete's sake," Sibel said as she turned around and looked at Rodney, "I swear, I'm going to kick your butt if you don't show concern at one point in your life!" She turned back to the rock and started feeling the grooves. "I can not believe that I am going to do this," Sibel said as she took out a small knife. She looked at Nova who was staring intently at her.

John looked over at the rock, and then took two steps back. "Not me," He mumbled, and shuddered.

Rodney wrinkled up his forehead, and in contradiction to Colonel Sheppard, took two steps forward.

"You didn't happen to get a cut when we were running, Nova, did you?" Sibel asked nervously.

Nova examined her hands and felt along her face. "Nope." She said, then glanced at Sibel closely. "Did you? And why?"

"You remember how we naturally have the ancient gene?" Sibel began, "Well, I was talking to General Landry about it and he handed me a report about an ancient device that needs ancient blood to activate it. Problem is it actually needs BLOOD. Not just touch," Sibel said with her phobia of knives in the back of her head.

Nova paused. "Um...well, I'm not masochistic, but...you don't like cuts, and..." She glanced up at Rodney. "I don't think he's going to do it." She looked at the rock, turning paler.

"Dang it! Beckett's not here and I don't think that we want to come back again. This must have been the weird energy reading," Sibel started then looked at Ronan who was entirely confused about what was happening. "Can you punch Rodney, Nova?"

Rodney took a horrified step backward. "Hey!" He shouted.

Nova rolled her eyes. "Tempting as that sounds, I don't think I can get enough blood out of it for it to be worth the effort. Seeing as how I really don't want to come back here..." She pulled a sanitary alcohol pad out of her tac vest, and a knife out of her khaki pocket. "I'll cut my hand. Would you..." She took one glance at Sibel and realized that she couldn't ask her to do it. "Rodney!" She said.

He hesitated. "...Y..Yes?"

"Come here."

"Why?"

She glared. "I need you to cut me."

"Me?!"

"Just do it!" She cleaned off a spot on her hand with the napkin, then wiped off the knife.

"Nova, I doubt that Rodney would survive even seeing your blood. Get Ronan to do it, he's more manly. And he knows what is fatal and what's not," Sibel said still terrified of knives.

Nova looked at Ronon. "No way, he reminds me too much of my uncle Danny. He's got big, strong hands, and I've got little girly scientist hands." She paused. "Even if I DID nearly beat the--"

"I didn't have to let you win." Ronon protested.

"Ah, he speaks!" Nova said, sarcastically. She looked back over at McKay, then at Sheppard.

Sheppard shook his head. Nova growled. "Well, I'm not cutting myself!"

"You know what, forget it," Sibel said to her sister as looked at her fingernails. She ripped some of the skin off of the cuticle and continued ripping it until it was about an inch long. She shook her hand to try and get the blood flowing then dripped some of the blood into the grooves of the rock. She held her finger as she watched the blood that was on the rock slow through the cracks. She jumped back as the rock started glowing and bumped into the Colonel whom she didn't know was so close behind her. She turned to Nova, "I need to clip my cuticles anyways."

Nova was staring at her with disbelief, and she put the knife back into it's sheath and stared at the rock. Colonel Sheppard didn't seem the least bit annoyed with Sibel's standing mere inches in front of him.

The rock split apart and Sibel quacked again in shock and she fell backwards into Sheppard who caught her once again. The rock pieces started hovering then began circling around each other. They organized themselves on the ground in a pattern then sunk into the dirt.

Nova glanced over at Rodney, almost expecting him to have an answer. "What...was..."

"Don't ask me..." He replied, staring.

Suddenly the ground below began glowing blue and the dirt fell away. They were transported into a dark room where they couldn't tell how big it was. When the lights came on suddenly everyone was nearly blinded by a large yellow light in the middle. It was like a large planetarium made of light. Sibel stepped forward and little stars surrounded the entire group to form the entire Pegasus galaxy in detail. It was like walking through a bottle of glitter or stepping on the path that the sun makes on the ocean at sunset.

Nova stared up at the lights and found herself instantly transfixed. "Oh, my..." She couldn't even finish her sentence. "What do you suppose the purpose of this is?" She asked.

"It's gorgeous that's what it is!" Sibel exclaimed as she ran forward to the largest planet in the middle of the room. She smiled widely as she realized what it was, "This is the original planet!" She told the rest of them as she pointed to the model.

"Original planet for what?" Rodney asked, his interest suddenly piqued. He also made his way out into the middle of the room. "That's where we found--"

"The city." Nova joined in. "And then..." She laughed. "I can't take all this in at once!" She turned around, but fell on her injured ankle. "Ooh, ow, I'm okay!" Surprisingly, Rodney offered a hand to help her back to her feet. "Thank you." She said and used him for balance. "Sibel, I've got to get back, this ankle is getting bad, and I can feel it swelling." She murmured, quietly.

Sibel laughed, "Yeah, I would much rather prefer that but I couldn't wait! I'm a very impatient person," She smiled.

The group arrived back on Atlantis, and Ronon helped Nova off to the infirmary. Zelenka and McKay both walked off to the lab, arguing and agreeing on several different things.

"Tomorrow, we can go back, if you wanted to." John said, once the others were gone. "I'm sure the other guys can get some recording equipment together, or..."

Sibel smiled at the sweet Colonel, "That would be good. I'm not sure all of the information that device holds or even what!"

"Well then, tomorrow it is!" He said, and slapped his thigh.

In the infirmary, Nova insisted that her ankle didn't need bandaging. "It's just a sprain!" She protested. "A little bit of ice and I should be good to go!" Ronon had left about five minutes ago, bored with Nova's persistence.

Sibel walked into the infirmary to visit Nova who was extremely frustrated with all of the men in the room. She sat down in a chair and took out a piece of paper. She handed the piece of paper and a pencil to Nova, "Draw something," Sibel smiled.

Nova sighed, and took the paper. She grabbed a magazine and used it to steady the paper, then started sketching out the beginnings of a fairy. "And I'm drawing because...?"

"Because it will calm you down," Sibel chuckled then whispered to Nova, "I'm thinking about a story I'm going to write, you want to help?"

"Aren't you always?" She answered, grinning. "Of course I want to help--ow!" She flinched away from a particularly tight layer of ace bandage.

Sibel smiled, "So, which one would you rather have, McKay or Beckett?" Sibel laughed.

Nova flushed bright red, fearing that the doctor heard Sibel's comment. If he did, he showed no indication. "What makes you ask that?" She whispered back.

"Well, obviously you tease me about liking the Colonel, so I am simply curious as to what your ideas about a man in your life are," she chuckled again not knowing that after she had whispered the comment the Colonel came in and began talking to Beckett.

"Well, if you really are curious, Beckett's the ideal man." She whispered back, becoming giggly. The pain killers were setting in.

Sibel giggled along with her goofy sister. "Well, what do you like about him?"

Nova was barely whispering now. "He's sweet, he cares about people. He's smart, he knows how to take care of himself...and other people. He's a good person."

Sibel smiled widely knowing that this was the first time Nova hadn't liked a celebrity sci-fi tv actor. Shepperd walked up behind her and she didn't notice it but Nova stopped blushing from before. "That's the sweetest thing Nova!"

Nova's sheepishness was replaced by smugness. "And what of the colonel?" She asked.

Sibel bit her lip then she said, "Classic hero figure, what else is there to say!"

Nova giggled. "Hi John!" She said, looking behind Sibel and smiling.

Sibel's eyes opened wide and she couldn't turn around. She stood up and walked towards the wall, she hit her head against the wall several times before she sat back down.

John stared at Sibel. "...Are...you okay?" He asked, looking at her sideways.

"She'll be fine." Nova assured him. "She does that now and again." Then she mumbled "Of course, so do I..."

"Usually you hit your head against the desk though, but at the moment, all I have is your leg in front of me....." Sibel stared for a moment, "Actually!" She hit her head against Nova's leg bone.

Nova instinctively pulled her leg back as Sibel's forehead hit her kneecap. "Ow!" Her foot hit the leg of the chair and she cringed. "My leg does not make a good desk.

Colonel Sheppard stared at them, dumbfound.

Sibel looked around and realized that she was hungry. She took two cookies out of her pocket and handed one of them to Nova.

"Oh, thank you!" Nova said, and took the cookie from Sibel's hand and took a big bite. "Mmm...chocolate chips." She said with a sigh. "And...raisins? Is this your way of making me eat fruit?"

Sibel's eyes opened wide, "THERE WERE RAISINS IN IT?! Now I have to sue them for false labeling...."

Nova froze. "Wait..." She looked at the cookie apprehensively, then studied it closely. "Yep, those are definitely raisins." She took another big bite. "They're kinda good, actually."

"I still need to sue them!" Sibel looked up and noticed the Colonel staring down at the two girls.

"Well, there's a meeting in just a few minutes so I decided to come and let you two know. And what did you mean by 'Classic hero figure'?" He smirked

Nova smiled. "Five minutes, got it." She looked over at Dr. Beckett. "Am I clear to go?" She giggled.

"Of course, dear," He replied, smiling.

Sibel giggled and whispered to Nova, "He called you dear."

Nova's heart went 'thump' and she smiled. "I noticed." She whispered. "It's rude to ignore a question from a commanding officer." She was about to motion toward John, but he was already out in the hallway headed toward the briefing room.

Sibel slapped her sister on the leg and ran out of the room after the Colonel. Once she caught up she just continued walking with him to the meeting room.

Nova stood up, slowly, and carefully balanced her weight. There...the pain was bearable, at least, thanks to the medication. She slipped her boot back on and then tried her weight on that; Okay, that hurt a little bit more. She took a deep breath and started after Sibel and Sheppard.

Sibel walked happily beside the Colonel slowly waiting for her sister to catch up. She adored her sister and unlike many siblings they never disagreed. Well... on most things. They never really fought though, they got along perfectly well most of the time. They would argue about little fangirly things like which character in Spongebob is the best, and would be a better husband between Hugh Jackman and David Duchovney.

Nova caught up with them at the briefing room door, and inside McKay, Zelenka, and Ronon were already seated. Nova leaned on her sister, and sighed, then started humming "Somewhere over the Rainbow".

Sibel hummed alone with her sister as she helped her into her seat. She sat down and the Colonel took a seat next to her. She whispered to Nova, "What would you think if I died my hair dark red...?"

"I think that would be totally random of you to do, why?" Nova replied, but she was smiling.

"I don't know. I've always wanted red curly hair! Not like... orange red though, like DARK red!" Sibel replied. She looked at the Colonel and smiled. He flashed a smile back and the meeting started.

The group gave Colonel Carter a few Reader's Digest-like comments on their experience, then agreed to file mission reports within the next 48 hours. On their way back out, Nova gave a heavy sigh. "Wowww, I'm exhausted!" She admitted, and then yawned. "I think it's time to hit the hay. I dunno about you," She glanced at Sibel, then at John, then back at Sibel again. "But I'm outta here. Wake me in the morning!" She said, then shuffled off toward the girl's quarters.

"Well, I'm nocturnal and I'm proud!" she yelled at her sister who was limping away, "I'm going to go for a run, would you like to come?" she smiled.

"Um, a run.." John thought back to the previous run he'd taken with her and Ronon. Finally, he said "Sure." He hoped that with Ronon not there, she would pace down a bit.


	5. Chapter 5

Sibel began stretching. It had been a long day and she was going to take it a little slower. Running helped her calm down but she didn't want to over-exert herself either. She took off her Stargate team jacket and her normal t-shirt afraid of overheating. She straightened out her tank top and rubbed the back of her neck where her tattoo was. She totally forgot that John was there as she fell into her own little world.

John tried to look like he knew what he was doing, removing his own jacket with the same fear, and stretching his hamstrings and other leg muscles, then moving on to his neck and shoulders. While doing this, he studied Sibel's tattoo. "Nice ink." He said, finally.

Sibel nearly jumped then she turned around, "Oh... Thanks." She blushed then breathed deeply. "Ready?" She smiled. He smiled back and they began jogging because both of them were a little wiped out from the day.

Sibel and John stopped for a moment to take a break then Sibel finally got the courage up to ask, "What do you think about my sister and Dr. Beckett?"

John raised his eyebrows and looked from the ground up at Sibel. "Oh, good, I thought I was the only one that noticed." He paused. "Not that I notice things like that..."

Sibel giggled, "Well, I was just curious. He's a good man, and honestly, I probably wouldn't kill him like I nearly killed Rob...."

"Rob?" John asked, cocking his head to the side. "That's...?"

"My sister's ex boyfriend, you can hardly call him a boyfriend though. He was a total.... Well I'm simply going to say butthead! He was stupid and he still kind of stalks her, and I swear I will kill him if he continues!"

John nodded. "That sounds...reasonable." He stated, getting more and more awkward sounding. It was obvious that this wasn't really a strong point of his, talking about things like that.

Sibel could tell that he was getting awkward and she smiled. She loved making guy's feel awkward. "Well," she began then hit John on the arm and started running again.

John shrugged and ran after her, shaking his head, new gears turning. He'd actually been thinking more along the lines of Nova and Rodney, but thinking back, it sounded stupid; She was practically threatening to kill the man! He glanced at Sibel's running figure, then looked ahead. The gears kept turning.

Sibel bit her lip as she stopped. She threw her head back and stared at the ceiling and she sat down on the floor. She wasn't actually sure who would end up winning her sister's heart, she thought that Beckett was a sweetheart and Rodney was egotistical but he still had a good heart... Somewhere.

John leaned over the rail, deeply breathing the fresh, salty air. He seemed to be reading Sibel's thoughts. "You know, Rodney's actually a good guy. He's just...got a tough shell." He insisted, and wiped some sweat off of his forehead.

Sibel looked up at him and chuckled, "Man, I really hate it when this happens. I hate it when I can't figure out what's going to happen in the story!" she laughed, "And I hate it when I can't breathe in the process," she leaned over her knees.

"You alright?" John asked, leaning over Sibel, his face wrinkled with concern.

"Yeah, I overwork myself sometimes. I never expected to be chased by a ginormous iratus bug today either!" She stood up and grabbed her jacket. She put it around her waist, "I'm going to go get a midnight snack. I need sugar to stay up and study... Want to come?" She asked nervously.

Colonel Sheppard glanced at his watch. It wasn't _that_ late, he could spare an hour or so. He looked around and bit his lip, then looked back at Sibel. "Sure, why not?" He replied, stepping forward.

Sibel sat down her bowl of ice cream and her notebook on the table. John sat across from her and watched as she opened her notebook up. She flipped through the pages to find a page about the myth of Drosselmeyer.

John grabbed his own bowl of jello, and watched Sibel flip through pages of her book, asking an occasional question or two...which was not characteristic of him at all.

Sibel flipped and saw a little drawing that Nova had sneaked into her notebook. It was a cartoon comic of Sibel and John kissing, She nearly screamed as she shut the notebook closed very quickly. She looked up and saw that John was staring at her

John jumped when Sibel slammed the book shut. "Scary bug?" He asked, peering at her over his spoon.

"Uh, um.." Sibel turned bright red, even more red than normal, "Nova likes drawing comics... and Um, she drew one and snuck it into my notebook. It was.. Um.. Silly." Sibel tried to choke out as she stared at John.

John stared at her for a moment, squinting, before shrugging and taking the bite that he'd planned on. "So...she draws? Do you? Draw?"

"Um not usually," Sibel replied thankful that he didn't ask anything more, "She's an amazing artist and I admire her. I'll only draw when she inspires me to," Sibel smiled thinking of her wonderful sister's talents, "She can sing, too! And Write.... And more," Sibel chuckled.

John raised both eyebrows. "Sounds tiring." He commented, but he was smiling. A few more moments of silence passed.

Sibel looked at the clock, "Oh wow. It's getting late," She stood up, "I better get to bed... Before I pass out. I still have to walk to my quarters!"

John stood up, his spoon clattering to the table. He reddened and put a hand on it to stop the sound. "Um, I'll walk you, if you want..."

Sibel smiled, "Why not?" After John awkwardly put away his spoon the two walked to her and Nova's quarters where Sibel was NEARLY sure that Nova was already asleep.

"Your sister...sleeping?" John asked in a low whisper.

"Well, you never know. Sometimes she can't fall back to sleep when she wakes up so I can never tell!" Sibel smiled as she was getting ready to open the door as quietly as possible, if it's possible.

The doors slid open, but the room was empty. Clearly, Nova had not found sleep. Her bed wasn't even disturbed.

"...Oh." John said, nodding. "Maybe she took a walk before bed?"

"Hm, that could be..." Sibel said looking around, "Well, It's not like she can go anywhere alone here huh?" She turned around.

"Eh, you'd be surprised. There's lots of towers and decks where nobody really goes. Except maybe lunch alone, or a relaxing walk. I can page her if you want?" He had a hand on his earpiece.

"I think that she'll be fine. I'm not too worried, if she can take on a big guy like Ronan... I think that she should be fine," Sibel giggled.

John squinted. "You know, I'd forgotten about that until just now, thank you for reminding me." He gave her a mock glare.

"Sorry," Sibel sheepishly smiled, "I adore my sister and love bragging about her! What can I say?"

John smiled, and then sighed. "It must be nice. Having a sister and all."

"You have a brother don't you? Oh wait.. Brothers are different I suppose..."

John laughed. "Yeah, a brother who used to beat..." He faded out. "A brother, indeed." He cleared his throat, and stepped out of the room. "Well, I should probably leave you to your.." He motioned toward the bed. "Yeah. Breakfast tomorrow?"

"Totally!" Sibel smiled as she began walking into her room. She turned around, "Sleep well and sweet dreams," she told the Colonel. It was a standard goodnight to anyone whom she considered a friend.

"Um, goodnight." He replied, with an awkward smile, and the doors slid shut.

Sibel sighed as she flopped onto her bed wondering where her sister was. She decided to open up her notebook again and look at the comic.

The colonel had been right. Nova was taking a walk down one of the outer balconies, in almost pure silence. She'd stopped, and let the cool breeze blow through her hair and clothes. It felt good to be outside, but it also reminded her so much of home that it hurt.

John walked up to her, "Nova? Are you alright?" Seeing the expression on her face he was naturally worried.

Nova straightened. "Colonel! Um," She wiped a tear off of her face. "I'm fine. Just...thinking of the beach at home." She sniffed, and let out a huge sigh. "Is Sibel in bed? I know I told her I was heading off to the quarters, but I changed my mind at the last minute."

"Yeah, she's probably heading to be right now," He said, "I understand how you feel. You can get pretty homesick here no matter how beautiful it is."

"It's just...so far away." She sighed, then rubbed her arms. "A little chilly, too. I'ma head back inside." She smiled. "Goodnight, Colonel Sheppard. Oh, and good luck with my sister." She winked, and then took herself back to the indoors quickly.

Colonel Shepperd stood with a blank look on his face curious as to what Nova meant yet knowing exactly what she meant at the same time.

Sibel looked at the comic flushed of all color nearly dying inside. She heard steps coming down the hallway but couldn't move to hide the comic.

"Hey Sibel, I--oh, I see you found my present. Did John see it?" Nova asked, allowing the doors to close behind her. She giggled and flopped down on the bed next to her sister.

"NO! Thank goodness! How do you read my mind?" She said as she tackle-glomped her sister.

Nova laughed under Sibel's weight. "I'm your sister, how do you think? MAGIC! So, how was your dinner?"

Sibel giggled, "Colonel Sheppard is a VERY charming man," she rolled off of the bed onto the floor and stared at the ceiling, "Of course, how was yours and Beckett's meeting?"

Nova blushed. "I haven't seen him since he wrapped my ankle. He's been awful busy." She lay on her back on Sibel's bed and ran her finger along the upper mattress.

Sibel looked at her sister from the floor curious enough to ask, "Rodney or Beckett?"

Nova turned even redder. "Sibel!" She wanted to protest, but she wasn't actually sure. Beckett struck her as charming, sweet, brilliant, caring, protective...everything she could want in a man. But Rodney presented something else; challenge, bravado. Bravado she didn't normally like. But in someone like the dorky astrophysicist...She found herself lost in thought, rather than answering the question.

Sibel could tell that even Nova wasn't sure. She picked up her comic and folded it. She stuck it into the flap of her binder. She decided that it was time to get some rest. She didn't know what would happen the next day and she could use all the energy she could get. She changed into her pajamas and got into her bed. She snuggled her large lion stuffed animal.

Nova, now clad in her own pajamas, hunkered down under her soft down comforter, staring into the darkness. It was amazing how a question from Sibel could trigger so many thoughts in her mind.

"Good night, sis." She said, unsure whether or not her sister was even awake.

"GOODNIGHT!" Sibel screamed happily, to not just her sister but the world.


	6. Chapter 6

"Pssst...Sibel...SIBEL!"

An unpleasant thrust to the face with a hard, poofy object slung Sibel out of her formerly-peaceful sleep. The pillow moved down to reveal Nova's face, shining with energy. Her hair was already piled neatly atop her head, her Atlantis uniform tucked in. Nova was ready for her day.

Sibel stared for a moment then said, "Go away..." She put her covers over her head then felt Nova jump onto her and sit there waiting for Sibel to come back out. Finally when she did she saw two large green eyes staring back at her. "FINE!" Sibel rolled onto the floor and started getting ready.

Nova was unusually chipper...her walk alone the previous night had obviously done her a world of good, and she didn't stop chattering all the way to the mess hall. Waiting for them, seated together at a table, were John, Rodney, Dr. Beckett, Ronon, and Teyla. Once again, Nova was amazed at how many people could squish together when they were friends.

Sibel smiled as large as Nova did except only because she saw John. She had an familiar and indescribable attachment to the man even though she hadn't known him long. She and Nova got their food and sat down at the table. They hadn't seen or talked to Teyla much at all since they came here. Apparently she had a child and was busy tending to him.

Nova played with the baby, her grin changed from enthusiasm to happiness, and John tried both to ignore Sibel, and get her attention. Nova turned from Kenan and Teyla to the doctors sitting near to her, smiled and mumbled a good morning, then started on her breakfast.

Sibel smiled as she watched her sister happily eat and socialize. She looked around and caught John's eye then immediately turned back to her sister. She looked at Ronan as he stared at everyone. He looked towards her and had a slightly shocked look on his face noticing that she was staring very strangely at him.

The morning passed seemingly like any regular morning, if you exclude the fact that they were on a military base on another planet in another galaxy among brilliant scientists and doctors and fascinating natives-to-the-Pegasus-galaxy. After breakfast, Nova followed Dr. Beckett to the infirmary so he could take another look at her ankle--which she insisted was perfectly fine, but he insisted on checking out anyway.

Sibel watched awkwardly as she followed her sister since she really had nothing else to do. She was too nervous to spend another hour alone with Sheppard.. Or even several minutes. She watched as Beckett tended to her sister in such a sweet way.

"Ow, okay, yes that does hurt." Nova flinched as he unwrapped the bandage.

"Look now, what'd I tell you about wrappin' it too tight?" He reprimanded gently.

Nova bit her lip. "Well, it stopped the pain for the moment." She grimaced. No matter how many times she sprained her ankles, she would never get over that sick stabbing pain that shot up her leg and into her stomach.

Sibel grimaced as the unraveled bandages revealed a purple and brown ankle, "Now that looks painful."

"It didn't look so bad with the boot on..." Nova mumbled. "Ow!" She flinched away.

Beckett put his hand on her leg. "You're gonna have to stop flailin, or I might hurt you on accident." He examined the bruise closely. "Aye, you're gonna need something for that, let me check with Dr. Keller and see if we have something mild in stock." He left the two girls and walked across the room to consult with another doctor. Nova glared at her ankle, willing the swelling to go down.

Sibel stepped next to her sister and whispered into her ear, "You have that weird feeling too right? About today...."

"The weird everything-has-gone-right-so-far-and-that-means-imminent-doom feeling?" Nova asked. "Yeah, I have that feeling. I also have that oh-my-god-my-brain's-not-in-right-and-my-heart's-in-my-throat-today feeling."

"Okay good, just making sure I'm not alone in this situation." Sibel made sure that Beckett and Keller were still talking, "How do you think John feels about me, Nova? I can't tell anymore, my brain is too scrambled to figure out anything that has to do with emotions."

Nova giggled. "You want my opinion? He's head over heels for you, and he can't make right or left of the situation either. And for once, he doesn't care that you're smarter than him." Nova glanced over at the doctors, who'd just parted, and whispered, "And you can tell, he's normally the kind of guy who doesn't like brilliant women."

Sibel was speechless at Nova's bluntness to the situation, "Well at least two guys aren't head over heels for me, I see why you're in such a confused state, love."

Nova flushed red, deciding to ignore Sibel's statement, and looked around for Dr. Beckett; He was just coming back from the pharmacy cabinet carrying a bottle of pills.

Sibel flinched when Nova pinched her on the arm letting her know that John had just walked in to talk to Carson about the blood that they needed to activate the Ancient Device. "Well, dear, these should help with the pain. They shouldn't make you drowsy, but be careful just in case." Beckett said to Nova lovingly. "Oh, hello Colonel, did you need something?"

Nova glanced at the label on the pill bottle; no sulfa. Good, she was in no mortal danger. She wasn't even sure what sulfa was used for, only that her mother had told her time and again that it would give her a severe allergic reaction, probably even kill her.

John glanced over at Sibel, the doctor's words sounding distant in his ears. Slightly embarrassed, he turned away from her and faced Beckett again. "Uh, yeah. We found this...device, on the planet with the bugs...P4X...something or other. It needs...um, it needs blood to be activated. Do you think you could...?"

Sibel blushed noticing John's reaction. She started humming Somewhere over the Rainbow once again. It was a little joke between her and Nova.

Sibel's nervousness was rubbing off on Nova, and she began humming along. As Colonel Sheppard and Dr. Beckett discussed how to take care of matters, Nova and Sibel kept in careful tune with each other, hoping to drown out their thoughts.

"Incoming." Sibel muttered.

Nova looked to where Sibel was pointing; Dr. Rodney McKay.

Rodney walked in looking for Colonel Sheppard. He was happy to find Nova in the same room as well, which was uncommon for him. He became suddenly nervous and slightly flushed as he saw Sibel point at him and Nova turn and smile.

"Hey dude." Nova greeted, and strangely the words sounded alien in her mouth. She decided right then-and-there to resurrect her old speech habits.

Rodney smiled a crooked smile that both shocked and intrigued the girls, then turned to the colonel. "John, the uh, the team's ready for you. You and Dr. Callimaeve...the thing." He fumbled.

John snapped his fingers. "Right! I knew that." He turned to Carson. "Well, doc?"

Sibel stood black-faced not sure what was going on, "Uh... Quoi?" She stared at the two men.

"I suppose it couldn't hurt, so long as you were willing to give the sample yourself." Beckett agreed, nodding.

Nova leaned over. "Ooh, got a little off-world mission with Colonel Sheppard planned?" She whispered, purposefully loud enough for John to hear--who reddened at the words.

"Yyyeah, I promised we could go back today and look at the...the thing." He managed.

Sibel's skin became even more pale white, "Let me guess. Nova can't come because of her ankle?" Beckett shook his head. "NOOO!" Sibel clung onto her sister, "DON'T MAKE ME LEAVE HER BEHIND!" Sibel's over-active anime fangirl came through her words.

Nova fought the urge to laugh out loud at Sibel's antics; she loved her sister when she was like this. She giggled. "Don't worry sis, I'll be fine here!..." She questioned the validity of her own statement. "Go...have fun!"

"And you'll need to come with me for that blood sample." Carson said, looking at John, who glanced hopefully at Sibel. His silvery eyes practically read; do not make me do that alone! As he followed Dr. Beckett.

Sibel pouted at her sister, gave her a big hug, then walked over to John's side blushing lightly. She winked at Rodney then walked with John and Beckett to the other room.

Rodney jumped at Sibel's gesture, then turned back to Nova. Nobody else was in the room, and he began to feel uncomfortable.

Nova smiled, rolling her pant leg down over her injured, uncovered ankle. "Hey again." She said.

Rodney smiled awkwardly, "Um... Hi? So yesterday was a pretty crazy day huh?" He said blushing.

His apparent nervousness affected Nova tremendously, and she found herself blushing as well, though she didn't feel the least bit awkward. "Yeah! It's been forever since I've screamed like that." She giggled. "And the last time I sprained my ankle this bad...gosh, I must have been thirteen or so. Running in the dark." She grimaced. "Bad idea from the start, and I knew it, too."

"What were you running from? Or should I say who..." Rodney tried to make the joke about Sibel and how he had heard that she totally beat John in a fight.

Nova stared at him blankly. "An iratus bug." She told him. "Twice the size of my boot." She obviously didn't catch the joke.

Rodney stared back blankly, "Um... Never mind... Have you discovered anything else out about the Iratus Bug?" He tried to get a different conversation started.

Nova sat forward, hers and Rodney's faces less than a foot apart. "Well, I think so. The samples that I saw here and brought back from the planet appear to both consist of two different breeds. My theory is that one is further down the chain of evolution than the other. You know, one-step-closer to being a life-sucking green alien man?"

Rodney stared with wide eyes and felt very awkward being this close, "Um.. Two different species? What would be the difference? Or is there one... Besides the being closer to a wraith thing..."

"I'm not sure yet." She told him. "I don't really think any other entomologist has had this opportunity, so I'm kinda starting from scratch here, all I know is what your teams have found out about them, which is very little compared to my knowledge of other species."

"So that means that it's a big opportunity for you! It will be like proving yourself!" Rodney said trying to be encouraging which he was never good at.

Nova wrinkled up her nose. "Well, I never really thought about it that way, but in a sense, I guess you're sort of right!" She perked up, then grimaced, and made a weird hissing sound through her teeth. "Oooh...geez, let those pain killers kick in soon!" She bit her lip, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath, and then pushed the pain to the back of her mind and re-composed herself. "So, tell me a little bit more about what you do here. All I have is 'astrophysicist', but I know that you and Sam aren't that much alike, so...?"

"Well, I'm the head scientist," Rodney began trying not to brag too much about himself, which was a little odd. "Well... People tell me that I work well in near-death situations. I simply make sure that all the technology is running smoothly, I guess."

Nova smiled. "Ah, so you're invaluable." She said, smirking. Her fingers began to tingle, and she started a mental count-down. Three...two...one...as predicted, pain rocketed up her entire leg. Fortunately, she predicted it, and was able to be quiet about it. "MmmmmmMmm!!" She groaned, clenching her fingers around the edge of her chair. "Whoo boy, it's gonna be a long day." She mumbled.

Rodney became concerned, "There's not really anyway I can help huh?" Rodney's concern shocked even himself.

"No, nope there's not." Nova replied, as the pain once again subsided. "It's a sprained ankle. It'll stop hurting in about an hour, and then attack me again when I least expect it to. They're bad like that." In the mean time, Nova noticed a shaky nauseated feeling come over her, and it wasn't from the pain medication. She glanced at her watch. Uh-huh, just as she suspected. "Hey, the tank's a little empty, wanna come down to the mess hall with me to grab a bite?" She asked, smiling. She decided she liked Rodney much better now than she had when they first met.

Rodney smiled, "Do you need, like, crutches or something? I mean if it's really that bad!"

Nova laughed. "Nah, I never used crutches when I was a kid, and even now that I weigh...well, quite a bit more than I did when I was a kid," She decided that the previous statement was unnecessary, and found herself blushing. "I think I can gimp that far, I did it this morning." She slid her sock back on, followed by her boot. Already, the pressure made it ache a little. She stood up and carefully balanced her weight on the other foot.

"Would you like me to?" Rodney was offering his should to her in order to feel like he could at least do SOMETHING to help the sweet girl.

Red but thankful, Nova smiled and put her arm on Rodney's shoulder, making it a thousand times easier to distribute her weight with very little pain. "Thank you," She breathed.

"Um, no problem," Rodney said nervous to even be touched by her.

Underground. That's just where John Sheppard wanted to be all day today. Underground. His only consolation was that he was underground on purpose, with a pretty girl. Sure, that description could work. He was bouncing rocks off of the constellations on the cavern roof, trying to hit certain stars.

Sibel ran around marking down all of the stars in her computer. She saw Sheppard looking kind of bored and walked over to him. He didn't notice that she was standing right next to him. She smiled as she tapped his shoulder.

John jumped and lost focus, the rock he'd just thrown bouncing off of the stalactites and hitting him in the ear. Aggravated, he picked it up off of his lap and threw it across the cavern, then smiled sheepishly up at Sibel.

Sibel smiled, "Are you bored?" She asked him knowing the answer already.

Sheppard sat up, raising his eyebrows. "Me? Ahhh, no, not bored. Just...okay, yeah, I'm bored."

Sibel laughed, "Well, I'm actually going back into the forest, obviously the overprotective military won't let me go alone." She chuckled suggesting "Military" meant "Sheppard".

He rose from his sitting position and stood next to her. "You're right, the military wouldn't allow that." He smiled. "Good think I'm a Lieutenant Colonel. Where to, doctor?"

She giggled as they both walked into the portal. They came out into the forest where there were only a few armed men and scientists studying the strange rock. She sat down on a log and opened up her notebook. She jotted a few notes down then looked out into the forest.

John stood practically over her. He glanced at her notebook, and then out into the forest where Sibel was staring. It was dark, and creepy, and damp-looking. And the cricket-like sound of iratus bugs coming from the caves made his skin crawl, and he again wondered why he kept volunteering to come back to this planet.

Sibel saw something move and jumped nearly knocking into John's chin. "Sorry!" She said as she stood up and hid behind him.

John instinctively pointed his P-90 out into the wooded area. "What was that?" He asked, finger curled around the trigger.

"I don't know, and this is why I shall bring you with me from now on. No matter how much I like the forest," Sibel said only peeking over John's tall shoulder. She saw an enormous bird fly out of the forest and into the sky. She fell over backwards.

John fought the urge to fire upon the fowl, and was tempted to shoot it despite it's harmlessness. "Stay close," He told Sibel. "To me, in those woods."

Sibel was astonished by the look in John's eyes. A song started coming back to her head but she ignored it entirely remembering that she was Sibel, the one who only knows the difference between crush and infatuation. She decided that it was simply an infatuation with John. She felt safe though, an indescribable comfort...

For not one moment through the woods did John lower his firearm. And he stayed within five feet of Sibel the entire time, even when she got a little too close to a particularly interesting fungal growth, and took out two iratus bugs in the process.

"Dude this place is UBER creepy," Sibel said quietly nearly hovering behind John. She could protect herself but, she had always been afraid of dark forests. She had a reason to be since she was on another planet and she was a mythologist. Who knew what horrid creature could pop out? Many of the dangerous mythological creatures back on earth liked this kind of area. The Bunyip returned to her mind and sent shivers down her spine.

John almost telepathically felt the shiver from Sibel, and shuddered himself. "Alright, if there's nothing else in here you wanna see, let's get back to the jumper, I'm getting the creeps.."

"Fine by me!" Sibel said happily. She felt as though something was watching them through the forest. She turned around and saw two yellow glowing eyes. She was frozen solid then she brought up enough courage to begin pushing John in the direction of the jumper.

They both broke into a run. Sibel's fright emanated around, and Colonel Sheppard suddenly felt adrenaline rush through his veins, and fought to keep up with her. They both arrived at the jumper, panting uneasily.

"Are you alright?" A lieutenant asked when they both burst into the clearing.

"No.... No I'm not," she said still feeling the glare running through her body. The eyes wouldn't get out of her mind and she instinctively turned around towards the forest. She saw nothing; suddenly the feeling was gone. She felt like she was being hunted and now she worried for her sister even though her sister was back on Atlantis. She felt like it was specifically hunting the two of them and she felt the strong need to get back to Atlantis.

In the mess hall with Rodney, Nova got a chill so bad she nearly dropped her fork. Sibel instantly popped into her mind, and she silently hoped her sister was all right, and stared distantly out of a window.

"Is something wrong?" Rodney said seeing Nova stop mid sentence and stare out the window. They had been having a delightful conversation which he didn't normally have with anyone.

"I, um. n-no, I don't think so." She rubbed her arms. "Just, got a funny feeling." She raised her eyebrows and shook it off. "I'm sorry, what was I saying?"

Rodney gave her a funny look then heard the gate open, "You want to go see your sister?" He said almost reading her mind.

"It's just...I know they haven't been gone too long, but see, I have this...connection, with Sibel, and...I just got the horrible feeling that something was wrong, for no apparent reason, and that usually means..." She let her voice trail off.

Sibel came out of the jumper as calmly as possible. She shivered again and desperately longer to find her sister. She looked around and waited until everyone else got out simply to be polite.

"Sibel, hey!" Nova's call came from across the embarkation room. She managed to get halfway across the room, when she noticed the grave look on her sister's face. "I was right, wasn't I?" Nova asked, in a hushed tone.

Sibel ran up to her sister and hugged her, "It was the creepiest and weirdest experience I've ever had. I'm glad and somewhat upset that you weren't there." She decided to tell her sister exactly what happened when they got a chance to be alone.

Nova read Sibel's expression like a clock, and turned and put a hand on Rodney's shoulder. "Thank you for spending the afternoon with me," She said, smiling. "I think Sibel and I are good from here." She gave his shoulder a friendly pat, then turned back to her sister, ignoring her smirk.

Sibel smiled and hugged her sister again. She was simply glad that her sister was safe, but those eyes would not leave her mind. She decided that she would try to draw them even though they were indescribable. She turned and looked around watching John walk up to the two.

The Lieutenant Colonel was wearing the same expression as Nova's sister, which worried her even further. She lowered her voice even more. "What happened? You look like you saw a ghost!"

"Honestly... I don't know," Sibel said continuing to look around her afraid that the eyes might appear out of nowhere even though she knew that they had stayed in the forest. She tugged on her sister's arm and started walking towards the two girl's quarters, "I'll talk to you later, John. There's something I need to discuss with my sister!"

John nodded, still clutching his P-90 like a dinosaur might pop out at any minute and try to devour them, and walked away. Nova stayed in pace as best she could with her sister, the pain medication having finally set in made it easier for her to support her weight. Once in their quarters, Nova heaved a huge sigh and leaned against the door. "Oh, my, GOSH, I got the biggest scare just about fifteen minutes ago...tell me what in this galaxy happened to you!"

"I don't know!" Sibel said nearly starting to cry as she sat down on her bed with a piece of paper and a pencil, "I was in the forest with John," Sibel saw the look on her sister's face when she said that and stared quietly for a few moments.

"In the forest with John, Sibel! And you saw a giant perydon that could knock the socks off our T-rex, right? Is that what happened?" Nova was trembling now, grateful for the cool feeling of metal doors pressed against her back.

"No! Something worse happened. I got the feeling of someone watching me. When I turned around, I saw these yellow glowing eyes! I immediately got the feeling that you were in danger... And I wanted to come back as soon as possible!" Sibel tried to explain.

"You got the feeling that I was in danger?" Nova asked, quietly. She scooted close to Sibel. "What do you think it was? And be honest." Her voice was so quiet, it was barely audible over the rushing blood in their ears.

"Honestly, I have no idea.. It could be anything! I mean, there are so many mythological creatures with golden eyes!" She said as she began drawing them, "Like.. The Gorgon, of course I would have turned to stone, same with the Basilisk. Bunyips have golden eyes but they live in the water... Werewolves have golden eyes sometimes..." Sibel trailed off as she finished several touches on her drawing. She handed the piece of paper, she and Nova had the gift to draw, but Nova trained hers much more often. Sibel only used drawing to illustrate a creature in her notebook.

Nova stared at the picture as her sister sketched. Her blood felt like ice. "When you say 'werewolves'..." She let her voice trail off, and looked up at Sibel.

"What?" Sibel looked at the eyes. She took out her notebook and opened it to her zoanthrope page. "Whoa... You're getting that weird feeling to, right?"

"Y...yeah..." Nova looked at the page sideways. Then she laughed. "Look at us, we're acting like we're in middle school! Giant creatures with fangs and claws and venom is one thing, but giant creatures with fangs and claws and venom and magical powers that make you transform at midnight? That's something totally different."

"Heh. Still, I know what I saw. It wasn't just a figment of my imagination, you felt my fear. You got the same feeling, Nova... Well, it does depend on the zoanthrope how they change, too. Some can change at any time they want to. Others can't..."

Nova squinted. The chilly feeling had left, and in it's place came a cynical view point. "I think we should tell Colonel Carter to be on the lookout when sending future teams to this planet. But I don't think we should tell her what we think...yet, anyway. Not until we can substantiate it."

"Yeah, I agree," Sibel said then stood up, "Want to come with me to talk to Colonel Sheppard? I think that we should tell him first since he was actually there..."

Nova agreed, and the two stood up and did their best to compose themselves. In the hallway, Nova asked "How much are we going to tell him?"

"I'm not sure..." Sibel said, trailing off and trying to imagine what they would say. "'Oh yeah, so basically there's a creepy creature in the forest and my sister and I are scared out of our pants' That would go over VERY well..." Sibel smacked her head with her hand.

"Maybe we should tell him what we really think." Nova suggested. When Sibel looked at her like she was nuts, Nova put her hands up in defense. "I'm just saying, I saw the look on his face when you guys came out of that jumper. He was as pale as you."

Sibel laughed trying to brighten the mood, "How can anyone be as pale as you and I?! We're Irish!"

Nova's mood was successfully brightened. She laughed as well. "Well, this is also true...Colonel!" She stopped walking suddenly, as the two came face-to-face with Colonel Sheppard.

"Oh, hi, I uh, was just on my way to see you two." He said, looking back and forth between Nova and Sibel.

"That's funny, we were just coming to look for you." Nova replied, her mouth twitching into a crooked smile.

Sibel got a funny, 'I hate you sometimes' look on her face. She smiled at the Colonel after a moment though, "We need to um.. talk about the planet..." She tried to explain, failing in the process of being subtle, her worried expression flowing through her words.

"An hour ago in the woods." Sheppard guessed. "When we--when you ran back to the jumper really...fast."

"Okay basically," Sibel looked around then dragged Nova and Sheppard to their quarters.

John was taken a bit by surprise, but when behind shut doors, he spoke up before either of the girls could get a word in. "Was it just me, or was there...a presence...with the direct intention of evil?" He could barely believe the words coming out of his own mouth, but he knew they were true.

Sibel's eyes widened. She looked at Nova then back at John, "This is what I saw when I started running," she said as she handed him the picture she drew.

John took the paper in his hand and studied it. "I didn't see that." He finally admitted.

"But doesn't it give you the creeps?" Nova asked.

John studied it as Sibel paced around the room. "Okay I'm sorry but I really think that that planet is a bad place to go alone," Sibel began trying to figure out her own reasoning, "If there is a creature there, which we know that there are lots of different creatures that we haven't discovered here yet, we need to be careful.. I mean... You even said that there was a presence there, I just happened to see it's eyes."

Colonel Sheppard was quiet for a moment longer, before he said "I don't know what I'm gonna say to Carter, but I'm going to make sure that nobody goes there alone. Minimum three-person-groups."

Sibel smiled then looked at Nova almost reading her thoughts, "Yes I am going to go back there. I don't care how scared I am, I want to find out who these eyes belonged to and," she began whispering to herself, "Why they're calling us..."


	7. Chapter 7

The slowly-becoming-'regular'-group had taken seats around a lunch table the day following the bizarre incident in the forest. Moods had lightened a bit, and all grave expressions had faded away, as the group of friends smiled and laughed and chattered away over sandwiches and meatloaf. And mashed potatoes, of course.

Sibel sat staring out the window for only a moment when she got a chill up her spine. She stood up quickly and shook, "That was weird..." Nova giggled remembering what the rumor about getting a chill up your spine was. She sat back down quickly and Nova and Sibel looked at each other. They started going into giggle-fits.

John stared at the pair strangely, trying once again to decipher their body language; He was once again unsuccessful.

Rodney stuck a fork into his half-eaten meatloaf, and looked up. "Hey, I was wondering, you two are sisters, right?"

"Of course! Can't you see the resemblance?!" They both made a funky smile then cracked up into giggle-fits again.

McKay rolled his eyes. "No, I mean, I can see that you're sisters...kind of. But, Dr. Sudenkorento and Dr. Callimaeve? Is it my imagination, or are your last names different?"

They turned to each other silent for a moment then back at Dr. McKay. "Um...." Sibel tried to begin.

Nova glanced over at Sibel, then back at Rodney. "It's...difficult to explain..." She laughed nervously, and looked back at Sibel.

"Well, our parent's were weird... They each kept their own last name, so when they had two daughters!... Well the rest, I bet that you can guess!" Sibel explained chuckling at the thought of her and Nova's cooky parents.

"Whoa, really?" John's interest was suddenly piqued. Nova nodded, smiled, and took an awkward drink of water. The water had a strange metallic taste, like tap water out of a desert well, with a hint of flavor that she'd never even heard of before. Even in all her days in Atlantis, she hadn't gotten used to the weird water.

Sibel smiled as she saw Nova's face when she took a sip of the water, "Well, when I was born, I had more genes of Mum and resembled her; Nova resembled father. So her last name is Sudenkorento and mine is Callimaeve."

"That's...um...like nothing I've ever heard before." Rodney said, and then resumed his lunch. John agreed, and Ronon didn't say anything. Nova doubted he had even been listening.

"Trust me, you have no idea!" Sibel said as she watched Nova eat her food. Nova turned and looked at her with her mouth full and the two started cracking up again. "I have too much energy again," Sibel tried to breathe out.

Nova huffed. "You ALWAYS have too much energy, Sibel. And then, POOF, you're out like a light and seemingly dead as a doornail. And don't even THINK about trying to force me outside to run...yet." She took a stubborn bite of her sandwich.

Sibel giggled then brushed her hair back. She took out a rubber band and started braiding her hair. She started mumbling to herself about nothing in particular and noticed that Rodney was staring at her sister. She smirked but continued to put her hair up.

Sibel fiddling with her hair made Nova want to do the same, but she was afraid that if she stopped eating, Sibel would get the impression that she was no longer hungry and drag her by the ankles outdoors to do...who knows what. John watched, entranced with this bizarre ritual of braiding one's hair.

Sibel finished and saw John staring at her. She decided not to be shy and she threw a little ball of bread at him.

John was taken aback for a moment, but being the kind of guy he was, he quickly adjusted himself to the situation, and without even thinking about it, launched a stray piece of meatloaf back.

Sibel ducked and hid behind Nova, "Meatloaf is baaaad," she said as she began playing with Nova's hair.

"Meatloaf is not bad." Nova teased, and took another bite of her sandwich. Although she would have loved to see how it went down, she was glad that a full-fledged food fight hadn't broken out. She somewhat feared combative situations.

Sibel took another rubber band off of her wrist and started parting Nova's hair, "French or normal? Oh! Or princess?!"

Nova laughed. "I just got my hair layered, it's not going to go into French very well. Although, princess does sound nice." She said, smiling, and took another drink of water.

"Okie-dokie!" Sibel said as she began doing a French braid on one side of Nova's head, then the other. When she was finished braiding it the entire table was done eating. Sibel sat down, "I love your hair, it's so soft!"

Nova turned red, but was secretly thrilled by her sister's comment. She prided herself in the length and quality of her hair. Seated again at the table, Nova and Sibel silently pondered momentarily what to do now.

Sibel saw that John was staring at the window so in the moment that he didn't see her she stared into his eyes. She couldn't tell what color they were. One moment they were hazel the next they were nearly silver with a light green around the pupil. She took herself out of the trance when Nova giggled; her sister noticed that she was staring at him.

"Well, I'm back to my shift." Beckett sighed, standing up and smiling. "I'll see you all later on." And he was, as he said, off. Nobody else was eating, but nobody else bothered to get up, either. Nova continued to stare at Sibel, waiting for her to show more 'signs'.

Sibel was entranced by his eyes, she hadn't seen any like them. Suddenly he turned back and saw her staring at him. She was frozen and she didn't even notice.

Nova raised her eyebrows and averted her own gaze to the window. A smirk had made it's way up onto her face, the left corner of her mouth twitching considerably higher than the right.

John stared back at Sibel, made suddenly paralyzed by her inability to move, like a deer in the headlights. But then he realized what this must look like from the outside, and managed to look down at the table and clear his throat.

Sibel blushed and looked at her sister, "Ready to come for a walk?!" Nova looked at her sister with puppy dog eyes. "Oh come on! Why must you know my weakness you adorable creature!" She said as she hugged her sister tightly.

Nova sighed in mock exasperation, but she was smiling. "Alright, okay. Let's go dude." She struggled out of Sibel's grip and stood up, then glanced around at the occupants of the table.

"Right!" Colonel Sheppard stood up as well. "I've got some things to attend to..."

"Zelenka needed help with something." McKay added, and the table magically emptied itself of occupants while the two sisters made their way out onto the nearest balcony.

Sibel stretched out in the glorious sun and smiled, "I do kind of miss home still..." She leaned over the railing and looked down at the ocean below.

Nova sighed. "Yeah, me too. Even the ocean here just doesn't quite feel the same." She leaned over the railing too, and stared out at the horizon. It was glowing brilliantly beautiful in the afternoon light.

Sibel looked up towards the sun with her eyes closed. She got that strange feeling again; she opened her eyes and made sure that her sister was still there.

Nova pulled her jacket closer. "Gosh, I can't get why I'm so cold all the time." She complained. "I thought our mother was just a crazy person who liked to keep the thermostat too low, but...I just keep looking at the thermometer here, and it's staying at about 70 constantly." She rubbed her arms, and one of the shorter strands fell out of the right side of her hair.

"It's weird huh? Of course, I'm always cold," Sibel giggled, "All the more reason to hold a guy closer!" She laughed into the wind.

Nova laughed also, then looked down at the other end of the balcony. "Say, I'm a little twitchy, beat ya to that post?" She pointed.

Sibel's eyes opened wide and they both started running. They had too much fun racing together. They both got there at the same time but always argued as to whom was faster, it was like a joke. Sibel heard the door open and heard footsteps. She paid no attention for that moment since she was too busy having fun.

Nova complained that using your arms to get across the finish line first didn't count, it had to be your whole body, but not a word of it was seriousness; She was laughing.

Sibel continued laughing then took a small bag out of her pocket. Nova had seen them: cookies. The rest was a blur to the two, but Rodney who had come out with Colonel Sheppard to ask them a question saw the scrabble. The moment Nova screamed, "Cookies!" It was all over. She tackled Sibel to the ground and the two wrestled over the bag of cookies.

They scrabbled and screamed and giggled, until finally Nova prevailed and took one of the small pastries. "AHHA!" She shouted.

"NOO! I have failed to protect you from the evil sea nymph cookie monster... Forgive me!" Sibel laid on the ground pretending to be dead.

Nova put her foot carefully, as not to harm her sister, on Sibel's rib cage. "VICTORY!" She shouted. She suddenly caught sight of the men, staring at them. Her face flushed crimson.

"Colonel Sheppard! Dr. McKay! Hi!" She took her foot off of Sibel's chest and put the cookie behind her back.

Sibel jumped up and straightened out her hair. She became bright red and started giggling. The four stared at each other for a moment, everything was silent. "Well.. Um... Hi!" Sibel tried saying without cracking up laughing at the sight of the two fumbling on the ground for the cookies.

"Hello." Rodney finally said, smiling almost sarcastically. The girl's faces grew redder. The only sound now were waves crashing against the lower walls of the city.

"Well, um, were you looking for us?" Nova managed, ears and face hot.

"Yeah, we needed to ask you a question about the planet you just visited," John said still astonished at the two girl's play fight. They were like little lion cubs fighting each other over their parent's tail.

"What question?" Something occurred to Nova, as a hot pain shot up her leg. She flinched, and pretended not to notice, but carefully positioned her weight on her other foot.

"Well, we were wondering if you two were going to be willing to go back, together, in a week or so," Rodney said, hopeful of Nova coming so he could explain the strange blood rock technology to her.

"Hmm, a week or so..." Nova put her arm on Sibel's shoulder, leaning almost all of her weight on her sister. "I think we could do that, Sibel?" She glanced over.

"Totally, as long as I have my secretly secret knife with me!" Sibel giggled about the little joke that she had been going on about for several months. She felt Nova's weight and pretended that she was like a leaning tower, slowly falling over.

Nova gave a throaty growl and stumbled away, fumbling carefully for her balance. She used her other foot, and immediately regretted it. "Gah! Yes, then, yes! SIBEL! I'm going to go do something. Be right back!" She limped at a surprising speed back inside the mess hall and grabbed a glass of water, popped a pill in her mouth, took a huge drink of water, and swallowed. She came back outside, grimacing. She straightened and pasted a smile on her face and cleared her throat. "Problem solved." She lied.

Sibel was standing wide-eyed remembering what she needed to do, "Um.. I gotta go!" She said as she ran back to the two girl's quarters. She put the two kittens on the bed and watched as they fumbled over each other trying to wrestle.

Nova raised her eyebrows and watched her sister race off, and gave a good guess as to what her mission was. She looked back over at John and Rodney, and smiled. The pain in her leg kept getting worse. "I'm, um, going to go see Dr. Beckett about something." She managed. "I think I did something incredibly stupid, and I want to make sure that it's not going to result in a cast or permanent injury."

"Would you like me to come with you?" Rodney asked once again offering his shoulder to her.

"I'm going to go check on Sibel, I think that I know what she went to do," John gave Rodney a pat on the back then walked away.

"Well, um, sure, thank you." Nova was embarrassed to accept McKay's help like this, but didn't really see another option. She was sure that she'd re-injured herself, and with her thanks, she put her arm around Rodney's shoulders and smiled.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK! John waited outside of closed and locked doors for Sibel to answer.

Sibel jumped and hid the kittens under the covers as she ran and opened the door, "Oh! Hi!" She pulled John into the room and closed the doors. She threw the covers off the kittens again as they stared at her like, "WHAT DID YOU JUST DO?!"

Colonel Sheppard wasn't exactly sure why he'd come up, or what he planned on saying, only that he'd had this bizarre urge to follow the young girl when she'd left. In fact, he felt kind of funny about it, and it was in the beginnings of worrying him.

Sibel was glad to see him, she felt more protected than she ever had before. It was an odd sense of security, like how a wolf would protect it's mate for lifetime, no matter how ridiculous that sounds.

John stood, silently, staring at her and seemingly trying to break some sort of secret code. He finally looked over at Pretzel and Mittens, watching them bite at each other and bat at each other's tails.

"You guys play nice!..." Sibel rethought what she said, "Nevermind! It's not as bad as Nova and I fighting over cookies!" She chuckled.

John smiled and chuckled. "You guys always act like that when there's nobody watching?" He asked.

Sibel's eyes grew wide, "Seriously you have no idea," She turned around and bumped into John not knowing that he was so close behind her. "Sorry!" She said as she stumbled back onto the bed. She sat there clutching the bed for a moment thinking, "_OMG I DID THE MATRIX AGAIN!_"

John plopped down onto the bed, next to her. The impact made both kittens fly several inches off the bed, and then come back down. They froze in their play for a moment, and then resumed like nothing had happened.

Sibel giggled as she watched the kittens continue wrestling. She wondered how her sister was doing after the secret race they had taken together...

"Are you sure that she'll be alright, Carson?" Rodney asked worried about the strained smile on Nova's face.

"Aye, she's just bruised the injured tissue." Dr. Beckett assured them both. Nova practically fainted. "And you're sure you don't know exactly what may have caused that?" He asked, suspiciously. Nova felt like he was boring into her brain with his eyes, reading all of her thoughts and memories.

"N--not a clue." She insisted, hesitantly.

"Well, be careful. You don't want it to get any worse," Carson told her kindly. He was slightly jealous of all the attention she was giving Rodney, but Rodney never got the girl. It was always Sheppard. He chuckled at how the colonel was treating Sibel as well.

Rodney turned to his friend. "Isn't there like, a certain number of days you're supposed to not move around after spraining something? Especially an ankle, I mean..."

"Oh, really, I'm fine!" Nova said. "See?" She put both feet on the floor, instantly realized how stupid an idea that was, and lost her balance anyway.

Rodney caught her off balance and grabbed her arm making sure she didn't fall. Sibel and John walked into the room and Sibel ran over to her sister's side. She stared at the two of them and saw that Rodney was holding her arm.

Nova smiled up, blushing, feeling stupid now for her actions, and awkward clutching on to Rodney for dear life. She didn't even notice her sister staring at her from a close range.

"I'm going to ask you to take it easy for the next few days." Beckett said, as Nova was once again seated with the help of Rodney.

"Define 'take it easy'..." Nova replied, grimacing.

Sibel giggled and jumped over the bed sitting next to her sister. She stared at Rodney almost trying to hypnotize him into hugging her sister or something. "Don't put weight on that foot at least for the rest of the day, dear," Carson began, "And no running," he finished almost reading Nova's mind.

"Wait...no weight on the foot for the rest of the day..." Nova fidgeted under Carson's scrutinizing gaze. "Here's the thing, I'm not exactly good at sitting still..."

"I could tell," he said and decided to make the joke, "Make Rodney work out, have him carry you. He needs to shed a few pounds!"

Sibel nearly burst up laughing at the thought of Rodney carrying her sister.

Nova blushed. "Oh, that's gonna happen." She hid her fondness of the thought with sarcasm, and nearly started laughing out loud when she got her own visual.

"Ha ha. Let's all joke about McKay, shall we?" Rodney interjected, scowling.

"Hah, It's okay Rodney, you're just one of the easiest to pick on! Trust me, you should see Nova and I when we're clumsier than normal, EVERYONE makes fun of us then!" Sibel joked trying not to be mean.

Nova laughed and patted him casually on the back of his hand. "Especially me." She told him. "I...well, when I'm in the room, things that were previously inanimate are suddenly alive, and move into my path with the sole intention of striking me down or knocking me out. It's really quite a phenomenon!"

"Haha, truly intriguing, no? With me, people laugh when I fall down... Why? Not because I fall down but because I quack... Like a duck." Sibel explained.

"Yeah, I noticed that." John said from a few feet away.

Sibel stared off into space as the entire room became a large awkward circle of awkwardness.

Nova started fidgeting again. Inside sitting still for less than an hour, and already she was restless. She glanced over at Sibel and wondered what she was thinking. Then she began to wonder that about everybody in the room, because normally, silence is a sign that either someone is focusing very hard on something, being quiet so someone else can focus, or they are thinking about something. And Nova was thinking about this very thing at that moment.

"I NEED ICE CREAM!" Sibel said as she ran out of the room and towards the mess hall. Everyone stared as she ran out.

"Yes, she always does that." Nova commented, before anyone could ask.

Sibel got a ginormous bowl of ice cream with some special apple caramel syrup her cousin created. She sat down at a table and started eating away happily. John, Rodney, and Nova, who was leaning on Rodney came into the mess hall. John sat down immediately but Rodney helped hold Nova up while she got her own ice cream.

"That...is weird." John mumbled, pointing to Dr. McKay.

"How so? The fact that he's a totally arrogant man helping a sweet and beautiful lady?" Sibel said being entirely blunt as she happily munched on her ice cream. She was so blunt right now she would tell John that she liked him if her sister told her to. She almost felt like sticking her entire head into her ice cream bowl, "_But that would be cold_..." she told herself.

"Yeah, that..." John replied, almost oblivious to Sibel's mannerism. Almost. Rodney and Nova came back and sat back down, Nova completely absorbed in her bowl of chocolate and peanut butter ice cream.

Rodney looked back and forth between the two girls. They had the same expression and were both just as absorbed in their bowls of ice cream, even though they probably would argue about who's more absorbed.

Ever since the girls had arrived on the Deadelus, they'd had their moments where they both completely baffled John Sheppard. This moment...was no exception. Never in a million years, he decided, would he ever be able to understand them.

Sibel and Nova startled giggling at the same time. Then stopped, continued eating, then looked at each other. They nearly choked laughing on their ice cream. It was as though they really could read each other's mind. Rodney stared in the same bafflement as John did.

Once her bowl was empty, Nova snapped out of her apparent trance, and found herself amused by the bewildered looks the two men offered. She smiled and wiped the corners of her mouth off with her napkin. The pain killers had already set in, and Nova felt the equivalent of no pain.

Sibel was finished as well and was amused by the looks of the men, "_What is it about girls that guys find so baffling?_" Sibel wondered to herself, and once again she found herself lost in John's silvery eyes.

Nova instantly recognized Sibel's lost-ness, and started giggling all over again. She glanced at Rodney, and then looked back down at her empty bowl, scraping the bottom with her spoon for no apparent reason.

Sibel saw that John was staring right back but neither of them were bothered. Sibel tapped her sister on the leg and finally broke the two's gaze, "Do you want to go back to the room?"

Nova glanced outside. "It's not even close to dark, and this is the warmest room here." She suddenly noticed she was shivering, and slouched down in an attempt to warm herself.

"Well, it's just... I don't know... I'm feeling weird right now," Suddenly the eyes of the beast Sibel had seen flashed into her mind and her head started aching. She tried to calmly rub her head with her hand to make the pain subside.

"Sibel?" Nova jumped up and put a hand on her sister's shoulder. "Sibel are you okay?"

"Um, gah!" Sibel stood up quickly, "I need to see Dr. Beckett now!" Sibel ran off through the hallways to the infirmary.

Nova glanced at John with a worried look, and he stood up and followed Sibel to the infirmary.

Sibel stumbled into the infirmary the pain getting worse. The eyes came closer and closer until it was like she was in a dream. Then, she fainted.

John instinctively jumped to catch Sibel before she hit the hard cold floor. He tapped his headset. "Somebody get a doctor down here!"

Nova heard his call come from the hallway not too far away, "Sibel!" She shouted.

Rodney helped Nova limp her way to their position. Sibel quickly came back to consciousness and saw Rodney, Nova, and John. The next thing she knew they were asking Dr. Beckett to do a couple scans to make sure she was alright. "Seriously I'm fine. Just a little.... tired," Sibel tried to say even though she and Nova were thinking the same exact thing.

"Sibel, just lay down." Nova whispered. "Dr. Beckett and Dr. Keller know what they're doing." She lowered her voice. "And I'm worried for you. You keep blacking out, and mumbling totally incoherent things."

"I'm mumbling?" Sibel said as she laid down partially being pushed by her sister who was sitting on the bed making sure that she wasn't on her ankle.

"Yes." Nova told her. She put a hand on her sister's forehead. "Doctor Beckett? She's really warm."

"Aye, she has a slight temperature."

"Slight? She feels like she's on fire!"

Carson turned around and put the back of his hand on Sibel's forehead. Then he turned to Dr. Keller. "Her temperature's rising rapidly." Then, louder, "Get me some cool blankets!"

Nova held onto her sister's hand. "Sibel, do you have any idea what's the matter?" She whispered.

Dr. Beckett turned around and carefully thrust a cold piece of material over Sibel.

"Um.. Kind of," Sibel said as she remembered what she saw before she blacked out, "I don't think I want to go back to that planet anymore..." Sibel whined.

"You're going to be okay love," Carson soothed. "Your body is showing the symptoms of shock, but we're not sure why yet. Just try to relax for me."

John looked on with a furrowed brow, obviously wishing for a way to help, but being clueless as to how to do so.

"No, and I don't think it's a good idea for anyone." Nova said. "We've already gotten word back to Carter, and she's set those coordinates off-limits."

Sibel sighed as she held her sister's hand. She pulled her sister down to whisper in her ear, "Those eyes... They came back. Then it was like I was in a dream, and they were calling to us." Sibel whispered quietly so that only Nova could hear. Sibel saw the expression on John's face and became relieved. He seemed to calm her down just by being there.

Nova glanced over at John, then back at Sibel, and whispered, "I know. I heard the exact same thing in my sleep last night. Difference is...I was actually dreaming. I was asleep. My mind was in a vulnerable state." Now, her voice was so quiet, she could hardly even hear herself. "I read more on the zoanthrope section in your mythology book this morning while you were sleeping." The rest of the message, she hoped she relayed well enough with her eyes.

Sibel saw the expression on her sister's face. John walked over closer to the bed seeing both of the sisters' expressions, "Is something wrong?"

Sibel looked at him as he leaned onto the bed, "No I think every thing's fine for the moment," Sibel laid her hand on his to assure him and they both felt a hot tingle. She immediately drew her hand away. They heard a beeping sound as her temperature dropped back down to normal.

Nova jerked her head up to stare at the monitor in disbelief. Beckett all but ran across the room, and looked on in great confusion. He didn't voice his misunderstanding, though, however clearly it shown on his face.

"Temperature's back down, 98 degrees even."

Sibel blushed brightly as her hand still tingled. She held her hand close and gripped her necklace crown charm. She turned to Nova and Nova saw her blushing.

She saw the blushing, but was too shocked by the sudden change in her sister's condition to tease her about it. "Sibel, you just...I've never seen..."

"That was a physical impossibility!" McKay exclaimed. His eyes had been transfixed on the monitor ever since it started beeping. "I mean, for something to cool down that intensely that rapidly, and make such a short jump--"

"Rodney..." John cut in. He was making that 'shut up, McKay' face.

"See I'm better now!" Sibel said as she began to get up. Her sister pushed her back down. "Why don't you rest for a couple more minutes," Carson said. Sibel looked at her sister who was giving her the, 'Don't you dare try to defy me right now' look. Sibel sighed and laid her head back down. She looked over at John again.

John grabbed a chair from the other side of the room, pulled it up by Sibel's bed, and sat down. "I'll just...stay here for a while." He said.

Sibel heard Nova giggle even though she was trying not to be loud. Sibel smiled and whispered, "Thank you."

"What did actually happen on that planet?" Carson asked Nova.

Nova shifted position. "Well, the first time through, we got there, took a little walk, then Sibel and I ran into this big darn bug like I've never seen before. We started running back to the jumper, and I fell and...that's when I sprained my ankle. So we hid behind this huge rock, and I swear to you that bug was about to eat us, but then," She motioned to Colonel Sheppard. "John blew it to smithereens. It was inches from us! And that's when we found the rock, and Sibel managed to get some blood onto the lockpad, and we studied the planetarium a bit, then we came back here." Nova shrugged. "That's my summary."

"Did you touch anything strange while you were there either times, Sibel?" Carson asked. Sibel's eyes opened wide, "I know not to touch strange looking... anything! Especially men..." She mumbled the last part, but John heard her and made a funny face.

Nova poked her, but was smiling, in the hopes of it being a mood lifter. She didn't like all this grave, scary stuff. It was...grave and scary.

Sibel giggled and felt better again even though that odd voice was still in the back of her head. She rubbed her face and accidentally let her hand fall onto Sheppard's once again. The tingle came back and she quickly snapped back almost hitting Nova in the face.

Nova kinda felt good, for once, having almost been hit in the face. Her tension melted away, and she suddenly felt very, very exhausted. It had been a taxing day, she decided. She patted Sibel on the head, suppressing a yawn, and was shocked when she saw how much time had passed. It was just about time for dinner!

Sibel saw her sister standing up, "CAN I COME! PLEEEEEASE!"

Nova smiled. "I don't think the doctor would appreciate that." She said. "But we'll bring it all up here, okay?"

"Actually," Dr. Beckett cut in. "I think it's probably best now that you all let Miss Callimaeve rest." He looked around the room, managing a gentle-but-firm stare. "She's had a tiring fight, and she may not know it, but her body needs time to repair itself." His intense gaze softened. "Now, it's alright if you all wish to take turns in here, but I don't want you in here tiring yourselves and exposing your minds to fatigue."

Nova opened her mouth to protest, but couldn't come up with a good come back.

Sibel pouted and crossed her arms. She muttered, "Meanie" under her breath then relaxed. "Ah well... THAT MEANS I CAN'T PLAY ANY DANGEROUS VIDEO GAMES THOUGH!" She nearly screamed to herself realizing that she would be away from her XBox.

John looked at her a bit sideways, but decided to cut her some mental slack considering what she'd just been through.

Sibel laid back down again going quickly through different emotions. She saw Nova's look on her face and simply said, "I think that I'm pms'ing o-o..."

Nova smiled, and laughed. "Oh, I think you're probably right."

"Don't worry," Dr. Keller had stepped momentarily into the room to get a few things. "Your charts look great, you should be on your feet again by tomorrow morning!" She said, enthusiastically.

Sibel blew a tuft of hair out of her face then looked back at John whom still looked worried. "I'm fine! Seriously... It was... MAGIC!" Sibel nearly jumped out of the bed. She breathed heavily then laid back down, "I'm okay... I swear," she was secretly giggling maniacally.

Nova glanced at John and smirked. "Oh, I'm sure it was Magic, Sibel, but I don't think that we're thinking the same thing." Her head spun with that statement, and she decided to leave it open to interpretation. "Alright, I'm hungry. Dinner? Anybody?"

Sibel blushed knowing exactly what Nova was thinking and secretly teasing her about. She saw that John was looking away but blushing as well, which made her blush even more. She threw one of the pillows at her sister hitting her right in the arm.

Nova laughed. "Hey!" And tossed the pillow back at Sibel. Her aim was a bit off, as her low blood sugar began to make her slightly shaky.

"We should both get some food," Rodney told Nova knowing that both of them were hypoglycemic.

"Agreed." Nova said. "And Sibel, I'll come back right after dinner before I go to bed. With luck...you're out of here first thing tomorrow morning!"

"Hopefully!" Sibel said worried about the same thing happening again. Her sister left the room and the feeling returned. The thing that scared her most was that she wanted to go back to the planet, to answer the call of the anonymous voice. She shivered as she thought of the glowing yellow eyes that seemed menacing but kind at the same time.

After everybody else had left the room, John looked at Sibel sympathetically. "You gonna be okay?" He asked, quietly.

She looked back at him, "Honestly... I don't know," Sibel tried to speak but it came out like the slight breeze through the forest.

The bizarre nature of Sibel's whisper made the Lieutenant Colonel feel a little off. He put both hands on her bed, and an intent, determined stare occupied his metallic eyes. "You're going to be fine." He insisted.


	8. Chapter 8

Sibel woke up happy as a fiddler and full of energy. She had a wonderful sleep and an interesting dream that she HAD to tel her sister about. She waited for the Doctor's okay to leave.

"Well, you seem to be perfectly fine!" Dr. Beckett told her, smiling. "Go on ahead now, and tell your sister that I want to look at that ankle later today."

"Okie-dokie!" Sibel said as she jumped up and ran out of the room. She ran so quickly she nearly ran into Sheppard who was apparently on his way to come see her. She fell backwards but caught herself and apologized. She blushed remembering her dream and the fact that Sheppard was in it.

"I was...just coming to check on you!" He told her, extending a hand to help her up. He looked a bit awkward, but blissful at the same time, and smiled. "Doctor let you go?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine now! Yesterday was just.... weird. That's the only word that can explain it," Sibel said as she happily took the hand to help her up. "I was just going to see Nova!"

"You won't find her going that way," John said. "She's having breakfast."

"Oh, okay! Thanks! Well I'm running, so normally I would ask if you could come but..." Sibel kind of trailed off not meaning it to sound like a challenge but it did anyways. She smacked her hand against he heard realizing what she said.

"Oh, what, you're saying that I can't run as fast as--if not faster than...you?" John asked. "I'll tell you what, beat you to the mess hall! Ready, set, go!" He zipped past her down toward the dining area.

Sibel was slightly shocked then bolted after him. She nearly ran into several people on the way. The voice came back again but she ignored it. She felt like she was chasing after a dream. She caught up to him right when they got to the mess hall.

Panting, Colonel Sheppard smiled over at Sibel as they slowed to a walk to enter.

"Sibel!" Nova's voice rang clearly across the room. She was waving for them to join.

Sibel smiled playfully at John then started walking over to Nova. She whispered in Nova's ear, "I had a weird dream last night. Like the comic that you drew!" Sibel sat down and waited for Nova's expression to change.

Her sister smirked that crooked smirk that meant oh-so-many things. "Ohh, really?" She asked. "You must tell me all about it, but later!" She finally raised her voice. "You have GOT to try the baked oats. I don't even like oats, but this is really good."

Sibel's eyes opened wide, "I don't like oats.... Or anything close to them!" She said as she sat down and saw Sheppard sat down as well, "Anyways, I had yummy health food given to me by Dr. Beckett this morning..." Sibel looked at Sheppard who had gotten control of his breathing. "You okay?" Sibel said teasing him.

John nodded, half-smiling.

Nova glanced over at him, and tried to figure out why he might not be okay. She took a deep breath, and sighed dramatically.

Sibel giggled then pat her sister on the arm, "What have you been doing since I've been cooped up in the infirmary? Draw any more embarrassing comics?!"

"Nope!" Nova said. "I tried drawing some portraits, but my pencil decided to be a poopy-head and not draw the pictures right, so I threw the papers away and played with a paddle ball instead."

"Did you hit anyone?" Sibel asked very seriously, joking about how the two of them were so extremely clumsy.

"Um...myself." Nova replied sheepishly. "But only because nobody else was in the room. And the c--that _pretzel_," She leaned emphasis on the word, "Tried to kill my leg."

"Pretzels are VERY dangerous so you have to be careful!" Sibel said trying not to laugh. Everyone at the table stared at the two not understanding how pretzels were dangerous. "You could easily choke on them!" Sibel said and she heard Nova start cracking up.

Nova put her head on her hand on the table, trying to hide her laughter.

"Not as dangerous as mittens." John interjected, looking quite serious. Nova started laughing louder.

"Mittens!" She said, looking up, and no longer trying to suppress her giggles. "Because they could smother you in your sleep!"

The two girls were laughing even harder then before. They tried to stop then looked at each other. Sibel leaned over and said, "Has that voice come back at all for you?" Sibel asked curiously.

"Not me." Nova answered. "I dreamed about sharks last night. But they were nice sharks." She smiled.

"Sharks? Wow, every time I dream about sharks, they try to eat me," Sibel replied then jumped up out of her seat with a new idea, "YOU AND I SHOULD DO KARAOKE!"

Nova nearly fell off her seat. "Karaoke?! Sibel what for?!"

"I don't know... FOR FUN!!!" Sibel said standing behind her sister.

Nova looked up, and kept angling her head until she was staring at Sibel upside-down. "A karaoke, huh? Like what?"

"Um... I don't know! Like... MUSICALS!" Sibel said feeling completely normal and hyper.

"Wouldn't that define 'karaoke'?" Nova asked, wrinkling her nose.

Sibel stared into space and suddenly they heard a, "Colonel Sheppard, come to gate room immediately, please," over the intercom.

A quizzical expression crossed John's face, and he got up and left the mess hall. Nova glanced over at Sibel, then carefully hauled herself up from the table and followed.

Sibel did the same except ran after John. She walked with him onto the way to the gate room. When they entered the walked up the steps and over to the people taking care of the gate.

"What's going on?" The Colonel asked, glancing at the gate and then back at the maintenance people.

"We just got a distress call from the planet that has been banned," Amelia Banks replied. Sibel got a chill up her spine as she remembered what had been happening to her and her sister.

"A distress call? How?" Nova asked. "I thought Carter took it off the list...how could any of our people be there?"

"We don't know, what do you think that we should do Sheppard?" Banks asked. Sibel got the longing to go to the planet once again.

"Well, I think--" John began, but was cut off by Nova.

"We should go back!" Nova said, loudly. A few moments of silence passed, and Nova stood down. "I'm...not sure why I said that, but I think we should go back and see what happened."

"So do I!" Sibel joined in with her sister. John's worried look came back, "I don't know if that would be a good idea...."

"Come _on_!" Nova said, jumping up and down. "My ankle's fine! Dr. Beckett even cleared me for off-world activity, as long as I take it easy!" She whined. "And I didn't get to go back with you guys last time, either."

"I mean for either of you to go!" John tried to argue as Rodney walked in.

"What's happening?" Rodney asked.

"We got a distress call from the banned planet!" Sibel said, "And we think that we should go back and find out what happened."

"I thought that there were no life forms on the planet." Rodney said.

"Well, something had to set off that signal," John replied.

"Yeah, and you know it wasn't those bugs." Nova reasoned.

Rodney looked from Nova, to Sibel, then to John. "Do you think that's such a great idea?" He asked.

John put his hands on his head. "That's what I've been trying to get across!"

Sibel could see Nova starting to become angry, or at least, she could feel it. She was starting to feel the same. She NEEDED to get back to that planet, she didn't know why but she had to. "We'll be fine, seriously!" Sibel tried to convince them looking straight into John's eyes.

Colonel Sheppard looked back and forth between the girls, then at Rodney, and back at Sibel.

He sighed. "Alright. Rodney, you coming with?"

Nova squealed in glee, her anger dissipating.

"I guess that I should come too, it could be some weird piece of technology going off or something," Rodney tried to sound brave but his nervousness showed through. Sibel smiled and ran off to get geared up.

Nova followed her sister. The boots and tact. vest felt good, and regular on her. She liked the weight of the objects making her feel impenetrable.

When the two were ready they walked back to the gate room, they team decided to just go through on foot since the distress call most likely came from inside the dense forest. Sibel stood next to her sister eagerly awaiting the gate to open and for the team to walk through.

Nova felt a little funny when the 'gate opened up, but kept her wits about her as best she could. The four walked through. On the other side, once the gate shut down, they were enveloped in complete darkness.

John pulled out a flashlight. "Stay together, no wandering off alone." He ordered.

Sibel obeyed the order for the moment but she knew that something was going to split the group up. The only thing that made her nervous was the silence, before on the planet you heard odd bird sounds and insects; now there was only silence. She looked around hoping to see the yellow eyes again.

"What exactly are we looking for?" Rodney asked.

"Hello?!" John called. "Anybody out there?"

"Oh, that's a great idea." Rodney said, rolling his eyes.

Nova stood closer to Sibel. "I feel sick." She mumbled.

"How so? Like stomach ache, or homesick kind of feeling..." Sibel whispered back trying to make it so that John and Rodney couldn't hear them.

"Like nauseated." Nova replied. "Like...from anticipation. You know how you feel when you're waiting for a TV special that you've been waiting for six months to see? It's like that, only opposite. I can't really explain it any better."

"Ah, it's okay, I feel that way too... Except I feel like how you feel when you're watching a horror movie. You now the scary part's coming and you're trying to prepare yourself but even when you know it's coming, you're still scared... Yet you can't close your eyes," Sibel replied looking around nervously.

"Exactly!" Nova whispered.

It was suddenly dark.

"What the--?" The metal clinking of John shaking his flashlight could be heard. "This thing just died on me all of a sudden!" He said, scowling.

"Might be a bad connector," McKay suggested. There was a sound like fabric rustling, then a _click_. Then a few moments of silence. "Mine's dead, too!" He exclaimed.

Nova made an immediate grab for her own lantern. _Click_! No light.

Sibel didn't even try hers. This was it, the scary part was coming. She just didn't know when. She breathed deeply and asked, "Do you think that the guns even work now?"

"Well, I'm certainly not going to fire in the dark!" Nova exclaimed, grabbing on to her sister.

Then, a round of gunfire sounded up toward the canopy of trees overhead. "They still work." John said, sighing with relief. "Not much good though if you can't see your target."

"You have to be a ninja like me!" Sibel said trying to lighten the mood. She closed her eyes for a moment and adjusted to the dark as much as possible. It was nearly pitch black; it was as though they stepped into a giant cave. She couldn't even see any stars in the sky. "Some thing's different," She whispered to her sister.

Nova nodded. She had very good night vision, but she couldn't even see shadowy figures of the four team members. She couldn't even see her own two hands.

"Okay, I know that this sounds WAY too... bad mojo-ish, but it's like shadow magic is being used to cover the woods in darkness. I mean, it looked dark from outside but I don't even think that it's nightime right now!" Sibel said bending down and feeling the ground. It wasn't cold and wet like it would start to become at night or early in the morning. Then she felt something strange, "Nova come feel this!" To her it felt like hard course shell but she couldn't tell when there was no light.

Nova bent down next to her sister and touched the object. She strained her eyes, willing them to see through the thick, foggy dark. "What is it?" She asked.

Sibel pulled her hand back, "I think it's an iratus bug! Either it's sleeping, or it's dead....."

Nova poked at it. "It doesn't feel like the bug shells back at--" A scampering, chirping sound interrupted her, followed by a kind of pop like something being pulled out of the mud. Nova jumped back about ten feet, a fresh wave of adrenaline hitting her body. She knocked into something...or rather, someone.

"Hey!" Rodney exclaimed.

"Sorry! Yep, it's a bug alright." Nova said, shuddering.

Sibel jumped back as well instead knocking into a tree though. She hit her head, "Stupid tree!" She kicked the tree and heard scampering. "Oooo I shouldn't have done that!" She said running towards where she believed the rest of the group to be.

The sound of what seemed like a million iratus bugs, though she was sure that was a gross exaggeration, filled the clearing, and Nova could feel little insect legs clinging to her boots and pant legs. That was the end of her rope; She screamed, and pranced around in an attempt to shake them off. She bumped into her sister, who, in turn, yelled "Run!" The grabbed on to each other and ran through the dark woods as fast as they could, avoiding trees by the sound of their rustling leaves.

Finally the sound disappeared after running at top speed for at least 10 minutes. The two girls stopped and leaned over desperately trying to breathe. Sibel was too terrified to breathe normally while she was running even though she had trained herself to. The two finally got a hold of their breathing, "Um... Where did we run?" Sibel asked nervously as she looked into the darkness once again.

"I...I don't know." She shivered. "Where are Colonel Sheppard and Dr. McKay?!" She asked. Her ankle was starting to ache again, and she thought back to Carson's warning about running. She decided not to give it enough time to let the pain set fully in. She dug around in her tactical vest until she found the bottle of pain medication, popped a pill in her mouth, and swallowed it as best she could dry.

Suddenly, they heard a small voice, "I've been waiting for you..." Sibel turned around and saw the two glowing eyes. She clutched onto her sister as the eyes nearly lit up a 15 feet circle where they shined.

Nova nearly screamed, but for some strange reason, couldn't bring herself to do it. Instead, she whispered "...Sibel...that's the feeling I got in my dream the other night, and when you fainted yesterday in the hallway." She clutched on to her sister's arm.

"I know... Who are you?!" Sibel demanded.

"I am the one who has been calling you," The voice replied.

Sibel heard Nova scoff, and decided to voice the opinion, "Yeah, I figured that! But... WHAT are you?" She tried to stress.

"I am an angel, a demon, the darkness, the light. I can be whatever I choose to be, I simply chose this form to appear to you two," It replied in it's low voice.

"I don't like this Sibel, let's go find John and Rodney." Nova whispered, trembling like a leaf.

"I can't move...." Sibel said trying to move her legs, "What are we stepping in?!"

"Nothing, isn't that the beauty of it?" The voice chuckled, "Your fear has overcome you but at the same time your courage is keeping you in place. Don't you want to know why I was calling you?" "Honestly, I did, but not anymore! Black magic is not how I want to live the rest of my life!" Sibel replied furious that her legs were frozen in their spot.

"What black magic? The darkness that covers this forest? Well, that's not my doing. It's the wraiths'. Don't you want to know what you can do to stop them?" The voice offered from behind the blackness of the hood of it's cape. Only the eyes could be seen.

Nova whimpered and clutched her AR15 with both hands. The reality of 'scientist-not-military' began to sink in, along with her growing-more-painful-by-the-moment injury. "There's plenty of ways to stop them." She finally managed.

"Ah yes, maybe there is... But what would happen if you couldn't do anything?" the creature started circling around them, "If your friends were stuck on a hive ship and there was no way that only the two of you could help them... Or if only you two were trapped on a hive ship, facing imminent death. What would you do?" Sibel watched the creature carefully not taking her eyes off of its own.

"I...I don't..." Nova's face went pale. "I'm not sure..." And then, she did something very uncharacteristic of her; She fainted.

"Nova! NOVA!!" Sibel said as she felt her sister fall.

The creature took a step closer, "Now that it's only us.."

"What did you do?!" Sibel screamed at the creature.

"Nothing... She fainted..." the creature said calmly defending itself.

"What do you want with us?!" Sibel yelled so loud her voice echoed through the forest.

"I want to give you a gift," it replied.

"What kind of gift? Like I said, no black magic but if it will get you to leave us alone..." Sibel said regretting her own words.

"Well I can't tell you unless you accept it... Even then I can't tell you, you will discover it on your own..." Sibel was silent, somehow she knew that there was something dark about this "gift", whether or not it was the gift itself.

Sibel tried to think of a way to "outsmart" the creature. Remembering all of her myths about creatures who won't tell you anything and expect you do figure it out yourself even though there's no possible way.

"If we accept this gift, what kind of difference can we make?" Sibel asked trying to stall until she could figure out "the answer to the riddle". The creature disappeared for a moment and appeared behind her. It leaned over her shoulder and whispered into her ear,

"Rodney McKay and Colonel Sheppard's life...." Sibel stood there almost lifeless. Her sister was unconscious so she couldn't get her approval on the situation.

"I would need to ask my sister..." Sibel replied hoping that Nova would wake up soon.

"How about this?" The creature said understanding of the two sisters' situation, "If you accept, I will give you the gift... Then when your sister wakes up, I will ask her the same question, and she can decide on her own."

Sibel hesitated for a moment then remembered how coldly the creature had said 'Colonel Sheppard's life'.She breathed deeply knowing that she had to say it, "I will accept your gift...."

The creature breathed onto her neck in a way that made it sound like it regretted what it was about to do. She felt calm and let the creature tilt her head to the left. She felt a warm furry paw brush her hair out of the way. Suddenly she felt the worst pain in the world as she felt large jaws saw into her neck. She felt the blood start to dribble down. Then she felt as though an electric eel was swimming through her veins. The jaws retracted and she started convulsing. She dropped to the ground, her eyes slowly closing as she saw the creature sit down on the ground in front of her and start weeping, then everything went black once again and she became unconscious.

When Nova came to, the ground was damp and cold. Night must have set in, but it was hard to tell in the current light. "Sibel?" She whispered. She still had that creepy feeling that she'd gotten when that...thing appeared. _Duh, it's probably still there_... She thought.

"Your sister is resting, she just had a very extreme experience..." The creature said quietly, wiping away the tears from its eyes, "She and I made a deal and I am now going to ask you as well..."

"Ask me what?" Nova replied, worriedly. She put two hands on her sister's arm, then retracted quickly. Sibel felt...feverish, but more than that. She had the distinct aura of sickness about her.

"Would you like to receive the gift? The same one that your sister has accepted...." The creature asked calmly staring into Nova's eyes.

"Gift, I...I don't understand." She looked at her sister, and then scowled back up at the creature. "If she dies, there's going to be hell to pay!"

"She won't die, she will be reborn, as will you if you accept the gift?" The creature came significantly closer, "You sister asked me what difference the gift would make... Would you like me to tell you?"

"Yes, yes I would." An almost blind fury swirled around in Nova's head. She felt violated and sick and wanted to know why.

"I will tell you exactly what I told your sister," the creature came up behind her and whispered in her ear, "Rodney McKay and Colonel Sheppard's lives..."

Nova's blood turned cold in her veins. "So...that means..." She glared icily up at the creature.

"Your sister has chosen the gift in order to save Colonel Sheppard. If you choose to accept it as well, Rodney McKay will be alive in the future," The creature said still close to her ear, "What do you choose?"

Nova wanted to protest. She wanted to scream and curse and rip things to shreds...but she felt paralyzed where she sat. "...I...I accept..." She said, hesitantly.

"So be it, forgive me..." The creature said as it tilted her head to the side and brushed her hair out of the way. He sunk his teeth into her neck just as he did to Sibel.

Pain. Like ice and fire existing in the same time and space. Nova's mind went completely blank, she clenched her teeth together, focusing all of her willpower on not screaming in pain, but it wasn't enough. She finally fell, limp, to the ground.


	9. Chapter 9

Sibel slowly opened her eyes to see the light, oh the glorious light. She looked around as she squinted, she saw that she was out of the dark forest, lying near the blood rock. She looked around and saw Nova lying on the ground as well. She remembered what happened and felt her neck, but there was nothing there....

"There you are! John, they're over here!" McKay knelt down next to Sibel and Nova as Colonel Sheppard ran through a groove of trees toward them. "What the hell happened?"

"Are you alright?" John asked.

Sibel immediately crawled over to her sister. She felt her head and could tell somehow that she had accepted the "gift" as well. "I'm fine... I think," Sibel said as she sat down and rubbed her head. "We just ran when the iratus bugs started attacking. We kind of got lost then somehow found our way out here... Or we fainted and a magical crocodile dragged us out of that god-forbidden forest....I can't remember."

Nova stirred, slowly at first, and then sat straight up. "Sibel!" She paused when she realized that her sister was sitting on the ground next to her, and then flopped back down on her back.

"...A magical crocodile?" John asked, looking at Sibel sideways.

"Like I said, I can't remember!" she lied knowing that the 'creature' who had given them their gift had brought them out here.

"Mm, I thought I was going to die. I swear I saw an angel." Nova groaned. "But it was just you." She added, looking at Rodney out of the top of her eyes.

"Or a demon..." Sibel mumbled silently to herself even though she had seen the regret in the creature's eyes. Maybe it was crying because of what pain it was putting them through... Or maybe it was like the messenger for a larger more powerful and dangerous creature. She had no idea and unconsciously hugged John. She nearly knocked him over; she hid her eyes in his chest silently crying.

Nova just lay on the ground, trying to control her shaking. She'd always had problems with shaking, and now, on the cold, wet ground, with what seemed like venom pulsing through her veins, and the shooting pain from her ankle, she was right on the edge of collapsing, and she longed for someone to just hold her.

Colonel Sheppard was momentarily taken-aback, but after a second or two, he wrapped his arms around Sibel and patted her on the back. "We didn't find anything, we're thinking the machines back on Atlantis may have malfunctioned." He said, quietly. "We're going to get you two back through the 'gate, now."

Sibel wiped the tears from her eyes and stood up. She tried to help Nova up and gave her her shoulder for use as a crutch. Sibel was nearly constantly checking her neck with her free hand but still felt nothing. The four headed back to the gate and immediately when they came back, Carson wanted to check on them once again.

Sitting near each other in the infirmary, once alone, Nova gave Sibel a grim look, then pushed her hair back and stared at her neck. "Just what I thought." She mumbled, and threw her head back. "Tell me we were hallucinating. A strange, dark hallucination. Together. Please." She groaned.

"I don't know... I'm not sure what happened," Sibel said confused of her own emotions, "I haven't really felt any different have you?"

Sibel then heard her sister say, "_Well, I know you're acting a little strange the way you cried onto Colonel Sheppard._"

Sibel turned towards her sister, "I'm sorry! I was terrified!!"

Nova looked at her strangely. "...I didn't say anything." She told her, squinting her eyes. "What are you sorry about?"

"I just heard you say 'Well I know you're acting a little strange the way you cried into Colonel Sheppard.'" Sibel said once again confused.

"Um, I said nothing like that, but I was thinking about saying it."

Sibel's eyes opened wide then thought to herself, "_Okay this is seriously weird... I am __totally not hearing my sister's thoughts_..."

"I don't think that's even possible, Sibel." Nova said, staring at the wall across the room. "And don't talk to yourself around anyone but me, people might think you're crazy."

"I WASN'T TALKING!!!" Sibel nearly screamed as she jumped off of the bed.

Nova snapped her gaze toward her sister. "_Sibel, raise your right hand_..."

Sibel raised her right hand.

This time it was Nova who nearly screamed, leaning over the edge of the bed staring at her sister. "I totally did not say that out loud."

Nova stared at her sister. "Sibel!" She exclaimed. "Are you sure you're alright?!" "_Beckett must have given her a little too much_."

"A little too much what?! I didn't say anything!" Sibel said, and John stood there wondering what the two of them were talking about.

Nova opened her mouth, and then turned to Sheppard. "Um, hi colonel!" She greeted, willing herself to have no thoughts...which, of course, made it extremely difficult.

"_You think we can turn it off like a radio_?" Sibel thought. "Hi, John!"

While Nova tried to figure out how to discern between speech and thoughts, John waved and sat down next to Sibel.

"How ya feeling?" He asked.

"I am feeling perfectly fine... enough." She sat down once again trying to figure out if she could turn the thoughts thing off considering the fact that she was looking into John's eyes once again.

Nova jumped and stared at Sibel, and then started giggling. "_Just think about it. Tell yourself...gosh, like, the way that you meditate. Just tell your mind to pull out of it. It worked for me._"

Sibel shot Nova a glare then pulled her mind out of Nova's. She breathed out and started thinking calmly. She looked at John who still had a worried look on his face, "Seriously, I'm fine!" Sibel rubbed her neck again.

Nova sighed and lay down on her bed and closed her eyes. The pain medication was finally setting in, and her ankle didn't hurt so much anymore. However, Dr. Beckett had demanded, since she 'didn't seem to be able to keep out of trouble', that Nova remain off of her feet completely for the next three days.

Sibel sighed and sat down on Nova's bed. "_Do you think it was real_?"

"_Do I think it was real? Sibel I'm talking to you with my brain. I don't even think *this* is real. How am I supposed to know_?!"

"_Very good point.... But I felt the pain, that was real, or at least, it felt real... Wait.. That means that you accepted the gift too_!" Sibel jumped off of the bed and stared at her sister.

Nova fidgeted. "_It made a threat on John and Rodney's lives. I was afraid...that if it threatened their lives, it wouldn't hesitate...and you were already...I was afraid you were dead._" Nova was trying hard not to cry, and she hugged her pillow close to her chest.

John was staring at them, trying to decipher their silence.

"_I don't think that it was threatening to hurt them... That's what's weird, I think that it was warning us!_" Sibel saw John staring. She smiled, "Did you just come in to check on us?"

Colonel Sheppard raised his eyebrows and shook his head. "Um, no. Well, yes, I'm...I'm not sure what else I came up here for. To make sure you were alright, I guess, more than just checking on you."

"_He came up here to see you because he's got the hots for you_." Nova teased, silently.

Sibel shot an 'O-M-G you seriously just said that!' look and started giggling.

Nova sighed and smiled at John.

Dr. Beckett entered the room. "Well ladies, your blood work and physicals came back clean, you're in the clear." He smiled. "Sibel, you're free to go. Nova, you're staying here where Dr. Keller and I can keep an eye on you."

Sibel giggled as she heard Nova call them silly names. "We can read each others' minds!" Sibel chuckled, "_We already told them that we could before, now we're not just joking_!"

"I've heard that about sisters." John said, looking back and forth between Nova and Sibel.

Sibel smiled and stood up, "I'm going to get lunch!" She looked towards Sheppard and he stood up with her. "_You think it works at long distances_?!"

"_Good question._" "Yeah, you have fun with that." Nova said, winking. "_Oh, check on the kittens, too! They're probably hungry by now._"

"_I'll do that on the way! No trying to sneak into my mind either_!" "See ya!" Sibel said as she and Sheppard began walking out.

Nova laughed as her sister left the room with John.

Carson gave a slight chuckle. "You know, you two, I could honestly believe you really read each other's thoughts." He sighed, grabbed a clipboard, and walked away.

Sibel and Sheppard walked into the room to feed the cats and came back out. They were about to start heading to get some food when Sibel suddenly got a sharp pain in her neck. She clenched her neck with her hand and heard John ask if she was alright. It was only a few seconds, then the pain was gone. She shook her head and felt perfectly normal again. She looked at John who looked as though he was ready to catch her if she fell. "I'm fine... I think," she felt her neck once again. It felt burning hot. She hid it underneath her hair suspecting that it would be bright red.

"You're sure?" He asked, casually, as they resumed their walk toward the mess hall.

"Yeah, it was probably just a little aftershock. I know that you head me when I said I was PMS'ing... You never know what it will do to you until it does it," Sibel replied and saw Sheppard blush bright red, "Sorry, is that too awkward for Mr. Hero?" She teased.

"Nothing any body's ever really volunteered to discuss." He replied, staring straight ahead and refusing to look at Sibel's face.

"Oh, sorry. My sister and I are very open about our female hormones, since everyone gets the aftermath," Sibel said as they continued. "I NEED to go for another run after lunch," She glanced sideways with an evil/playful look on her face, inviting Sheppard to challenge her.

"Oh, what, so you can whip my butt again?" John asked, smiling. "Just what I need."

Sibel smiled back, "No, because I'm lonely running alone!" She gave John the puppy dog pout... Even though it was more like kitten eyes.

John all but glared, good natured, of course. "All right, I'll run with you after lunch." He told her.

Sibel nearly jumped for joy, her emotions were extreme for some reason and she didn't know why.

Rodney came in to see how Nova was doing with a food tray in his arms, "I already ate but I thought that you might want some GOOD food!"

Nova smiled. "Aww, thanks Rodney, you didn't have to!" She lowered her voice. "Call me crazy, but I'm not as opposed to 'hospital food' as a lot of other people."

"Really? Neither am I...." Rodney said as he handed her the tray, "But I also got you a bowl of ice cream! Made sure to put what you have put on it before though."

"Ice cream, really?! Sweet!" She swung her feet over the edge of the bed and started stuffing her face. She felt a little fatigued by the pain killers, but not as much as she would have expected. Almost like, her energy was through the roof, just dampened by the medication. She was also incredibly hungry.

Rodney sat on the bed next to her and started thinking about what he could do to help her more. He took out a piece of paper from his pocket, "Want to play Tic Tac Toe?"

Nova smirked. "Tic tac toe? You sure? Because, I _am_ the master."

Rodney scoffed playfully then drew out the lines. He didn't know how many times he had lost, but at least an hour had gone by.

Crossing off another row of X's, Nova sighed. "See, you wouldn't think there was any strategy to playing tic-tac-toe, but when you spend hours in boring conferences playing it with an invisible opponent, you learn things."

Rodney stared at the paper for a moment then said, "Want to play hangman?"

Nova bit her lip, smirking. "Do you know what I did for a living before I got into entomology?"

"Nevermind!" He said as he stuffed the used up tic tac toe paper into the trash can next to her bed. At that moment Sibel walked in to his salvation, "I just came to see how you were doing before I took another run," she smiled as she pushed Rodney gently out of the way and sat down on the bed.

Nova smiled and patted her thighs, almost bored. "I'm all good up here! A little fidgety, though. I was just about to tell Rodney about how I used to be a book editor. Before I got interested in entomology, of course." She glanced over at McKay as she said his name.

Sibel smiled, "You say that to everyone who wants you to play hangman with you, don't you! You're just dangerous at word games!"

"Very dangerous." Nova began stacking up her dishes. There weren't many, but she was in the habit of keeping messes like that compacted quite carefully.

"Well, I will come back and see you... After I shower!" Sibel chuckled then walked out leaving Rodney and Nova alone again.

Nova watched her sister leave the room, then glanced down at her lap and began twiddling her thumbs.

"Do you want to watch a movie?" Rodney asked searching for the last resort to an awkward moment.

"Well, I--a movie? Really? We can do that?" Nova replied, sitting forward.

"Just need to get you transported to one of the movie rooms!" Rodney said happily as he walked over to Carson to get permission.

Nova raised her eyebrows and sat back, impressed. She hadn't even considered the possibility of movies in a galaxy so far away.

Sibel stretched out a little bit and decided to put her hair in a braid to the side instead of her normal braid. She wanted to make sure that the area she was supposedly bitten was covered up. She breathed in and out and felt her neck carefully pretending to stretch it out. It wasn't hot anymore but she didn't want that pain to happen again. She looked over at Sheppard.

John was stretching. He could get used to this running stuff...aside from the fact that his legs were practically dying from so much extra activity, it felt really good to have his muscles moving and burning.

Sibel felt a strange burst of adrenaline watching John stretch out. It felt as though a dying flame inside her began burning again because gasoline had been thrown over it. She bit her lip and stretched out one more time. She felt like everything in the room was changing; she imagined herself climbing up the walls and running across the tiny railings. The moment John was ready and they started running the adrenaline kicked in even more.

John didn't even come close to being able to keep up with Sibel. When she finally did stop running, he was several meters behind, practically falling over. "I don't...think...I've ever seen anyone...run that fast!" he managed, between breaths.

Sibel caught herself and looked around. Then the pain came back, more intense this time though and instead it ran through her neck into her head. She fell to her knees as she gripped at her hair. Then it disappeared again.

John furrowed his eyebrows and gently grabbed her shoulders, just in case she fell or lost her balance. "You sure you're alright?" He was obviously referring to when she'd grabbed at her neck over two hours ago.

Sibel didn't look up at him, her eyes felt strange. The color seemed all weird and distorted, "I'm sorry I have to go!" Sibel said as she ran out of sight and back to the room. She went in and quickly as possible and grabbed a mirror for a moment she saw that her pupils had turned into diamond shapes. The next moment they went back to normal and the colors that she knew returned. She breathed deeply as she set the mirror down and lied on the bed.

In a transporter, permission to leave granted only with her promise to return immediately after the movie, Nova's muscles felt weird, even hurt a little. She blamed her faulty nerves, though. But she didn't know what to blame the dizziness on, or the puzzling shades of blue and purple and came over her vision. It made her dizzy, though, and she swayed on her feet a little bit.

Rodney held Nova's shoulder making sure that she didn't put ANY weight on her hurt ankle, "Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah..." Nova replied, leaning on Rodney a little. "Just um, a little feint spell. Probably hereditary." She closed her eyes and shook her head.

"_Are you okay, Nova? I got the weird feeling that you weren't..._" Sibel tried to tell her sister not sure if the mind powers worked in long distances.

Nova jumped and looked around, trying to hide from McKay the fact that she was hearing voices. Even if she was sane...mostly. "_Yeah, I'm fine. I just...got a little dizzy, almost fell over. What about you?_"

"_Okay so it DOES work long distances... I've been getting terrible pains where that creature bit me... I started... Hallucinating a little bit too.. I think_," Sibel replied.

"_Really? I haven't had any weird pains, some visual effects, though_."

"_I had a weird adrenaline burst too... John said that he never saw anyone run that fast before...._" Sibel replied becoming more nervous.

"_You think, maybe..._"

"Hello? Yoo-hoo, anyone still there?"

Nova realized that Rodney's hand was waving in front of her face.

Rodney became even more worried about her but they continued to the movie room and he sat her down on the couch, "What movie do you want to watch?"

"Uh, I don't know, what is there?" She asked, trying to focus. The_ last_ thing she wanted to think about was the obvious reason for the bizarre happenings.

Well, we have quite a few," Rodney set down several of the movies that the Atlantis team had brought. In the videos was one called, "The Princess Bride" he had never seen it before but still decided to let Nova choose. He rarely went to the movies.

Nova giggled. "Dude, I love that one!" She said. "It's based on a novel by...um, someone with 'Morgan' in their last name, I can never remember. But it's corny and funny and good."

"Alright!" Rodney said as he popped the disk into the Dvd player. He handed the remote to Nova and sat down next to her.

Nova sat the remote on the armrest of the couch, and almost laughed. Holding a television remote always made her think of her dad, no matter where she was or what she was doing.

They were about halfway through the movie when Rodney realized the genius of it. The humor wasn't stupid like many movies made nowadays. It was very rare that people heard Rodney laugh as well.

Somewhere near the end of the movie, he noticed that Nova had ceased laughing or pointing out how she knew the actors from other shows. He didn't even notice that she'd been leaning on him before, but her deep, even breathing indicated only one thing; She was asleep.

Rodney sighed and decided to get Ronon on the intercom. Rodney knew that he wasn't strong enough to carry anyone down the the infirmary from ANYWHERE in Atlantis.

Ten minutes later, Ronon showed up in the lounge. He looked at Nova, then at Rodney. "You bore her to sleep?" He asked, wearing what might have been interpreted as a smile.

"Actually we were watching a movie," Rodney said offended by his comment even though it was probably true most of the time.

"Right." Ronon replied. He effortlessly hefted Nova up, and she didn't so much as stir. She'd always been a heavy sleeper. "Where'm I s'posed to take her?" He asked.

"Down the the infirmary," Rodney instructed the large man while walking with him the way there.

Moments later, Nova was laying on a bed in the infirmary, and Ronon was exiting to go do...whatever it was he did when he disappeared.

Sibel laid in her bed hoping that Nova would get better soon. She chuckled when she thought of the "miraculous" recovery she made after touching John's hand. She realized how worried he must be after she ran off like that. She felt normal at the moment and there were no effects so she decided to go visit him. She sat up breathed in and out then walked over to the door.

Again, the doors opened to John with a raised fist. When they did, he froze for a moment, and then put his arm down by his side. "If you don't mind my asking, what, exactly...?"

"I'm sorry, I had to come back here and take... Pamprin!" She quickly said remembering what she had said about PMSing. "I was getting a really bad headache."

"Oh, I'm...sorry." He detected her lie like an EEG machine, but didn't say anything.

She rubbed her neck again and it started burning up. It felt like sticking your hand on a boiling kettle of water. She refrained from saying ouch but took it away as quickly as possible. She looked deeply into John's eyes as it seemed that he was searching for the answer to her lie without asking. She began feeling extremely warm and she suddenly had the extreme urge to kiss him.

John saw a light in Sibel's eyes, and was suddenly very nervous, but had no idea why. Something about the way she was looking at him...WHY was she looking at him like that?!

Sibel restrained the feeling and turned around. She calmly walked over and drank some water. She rubbed her forehead and felt sweat. She shook her hair out a little and saw the distorted colors coming back. She closed her eyes tightly, "Sorry, the headache came back... And apparently hot flashes are here to visit as well.." She felt an animalistic attraction to Sheppard right now but she shook it off.

John looked at her, a bit worried. "Maybe you should sit down..." He suggested, gently setting a hand on her shoulder.

His hand burned to the touch and she jumped backwards. The colors were normal again but she felt even hotter than before. She started breathing more quickly than before. She NEEDED air, now!

Colonel Sheppard watched Sibel run outside in confusion, and wondered if he'd said something to upset her. He decided to let her fume it out outside...where he was in no danger of becoming fresh meat.

Sibel ran outside and felt the wind against her skin. She took off her jacket as quickly as possible without ripping it and let the breeze cool her damp skin. She started breathing more calmly but she hoped that that odd experience didn't happen again for a while.

John stared outside for a moment, and then walked off to find Ronon.

Sibel felt that Nova was asleep so she had to deal with this emotional trauma on her own. She breathed deeply and sat down. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine the "beast" inside her as her friend had taught her to do. "Tame it, control it, live in it..." She quietly said to herself imagining the beast inside of her being tamed.

Nova sat bolt upright in bed. She felt warm and threw her covers off, then reached for her pain killers on the bedside table. She wondered how long she'd been sleeping for, and then suddenly had a bad feeling about Sibel. "_Are you alright?_"

"_I am now! But Nova... I almost kissed him! I could barely contain myself! I felt really hot at first then this nearly undeniable urge came over me_!" Sibel thought back to her sister as she stared out at the ocean kind of wishing that she had.

"._..kissed him? You felt hot? Urge?_!" Even though she knew her sister couldn't see her, Nova let a surprised expression cross her face.

Sibel decided to try something new, she tried sending her sister the memory of what happened. Mostly how she felt when it was happening.

Nova wasn't sure, but she could have sworn she got a distinct visual image. Her face grew warmer, and she wrinkled up her nose in an attempt to figure out why. "_What did you just do?_"

"_I tried to send you the memory and feeling that I got... It was probably not as bad as it was in my actual position, but it was enough.._" Sibel replied.

"_Yeah, enough to practically send me through the window! How long have you been feeling like that?_"

"_It was just now! It was... animalistic! I couldn't describe it if I tried!_" Sibel remembered how catwoman acted when she felt like that, "Nah it couldn't be!" She said to herself still staring into the distance.

"_That's...bizarre_." Nova admitted. She felt cold now, and pulled her blanket back up and hunkered down underneath it.

"_I know.. The problem is, I regret not kissing him!_" She said, not only in her mind but out loud.

"_Hah! If I had a dime for every time I felt like that._" Nova told her sister, and quietly laughed to herself.

Sibel heard someone breathing on the balcony she turned around and saw Ronan standing there with a funny look on his face which she believed to be a smirk. He noticed her staring at him in a strange manner.

"Have you seen Sheppard?" He asked, shifting his weight on his feet.

"Maaaaaybe," she said as she stared at him, "Why do you want to know and how long have you been standing there?!"

"Couple minutes." He replied. "No reason. Just looking for him."

"Oh... Um... He was at my room," she immediately regretted the words knowing that Ronan had not only heard what she said the moment before, now he knew whom she had been talking about. He smiled...what you would be able to call a smile on him.

"I'll radio him." He finally said, and walked inside nonchalantly.

Sibel nearly fell over, "_Ronan heard me Nova_!"

"_Heard you what? What'd you say_?"

"_When I said that I regretted not kissing him! I said it out loud too!_"

Nova laughed out loud. She drew the attention of Dr. Keller from across the room, but didn't notice. "_He heard you say that? Does he know who you were talking about?_" She tried not to communicate her amusement, but she was sure that Sibel picked it up one way or another.

"_I was stupid enough to answer his question about if I'd seen Sheppard. I also said that he was just at my room_!" Sibel smacked her head with her hand not knowing that John had come out to see if she had calmed down yet.

"...Whatcha doin'?" Sheppard asked, warily, leaning casually against a rail.

Sibel nearly screamed in shock, "_At least he wasn't the one standing there when I said that..._" Sibel thought. "I was... Meditating. My hormones are going a little crazy right now, heh. Oh, Ronon was looking for you!"

John snapped his fingers. "He was here? I've been looking for him! Sorta..."

Sibel felt increasingly awkward, "I'm sorry. I'm just really feeling weird right now.

"Yeah, I noticed that." He mumbled, and softened his gaze when he saw the expression on her face.

"It was nothing to do with you!" _"Well... It kind of was._" "But it wasn't your fault. I'm just feeling REALLY weird right now..." She tried to explain best as she could.

John couldn't figure her out, so he gave her a comforting pat on the back instead. "Don't we all have days like that?"

His touch didn't feel like it did before, instead it was calming, but the urge to kiss him came back. It wasn't as strong and she didn't feel those animalistic urges so she was calmer. She believed that the "meditating" actually helped her control these new hormones.

Even after he'd spoken, Colonel Sheppard didn't take his hand off her back. Instead, he let it sit there, and stared out over the ocean. He wasn't sure what to do next.

"_Nova_!" Sibel thought to her sister quickly as she sent her sister her feelings and what was happening.

Nova jumped out of her thoughts when Sibel picked up the line again. "Whoa..."

"_What should I do_?!" She asked her sister quickly.

"_Pshh, I'm no better with guys than you are, worse if anything! I don't know_!"

The urge came back, even more strong than it was before, the hormones took over. The moment that John looked at her, she kissed him. It was quick and the moment she realized what she did she broke away and ran towards the infirmary.

Nova nearly jumped out of her skin when Sibel skidded to a halt in front of her. "Don't tell me..." She began.

"O-M-G I think I'm going to die!" Sibel said as she stood frozen next to Nova's bed, "O-m-g-o-m-g-o-m-g-o-m-g!!!"

"What what WHAT?! You're scaring me!"

"I KISSED HIM!" Sibel yelled back.

"NO WAY!" Nova practically screamed. But she didn't have the look of impending doom that her sister did; She was grinning from ear-to-ear.

Sibel sat down on the bed breathing heavily. The kiss left her feeling like she just ran a marathon even though it was short. The hormones were gone but she felt like she was inside a jacuzzi. She couldn't stop thinking about it. The kiss... It was THERE. She couldn't explain it, she just hoped that Colonel Sheppard wasn't running after her, she thought that she would faint if she saw him again.

Nova was staring at Sibel, slack-jawed. "Is this a good thing or a bad thing?" She whispered.

"I don't know!" Sibel said, flabbergasted, "I think... It was good?" She said surprised at what she said.

Nova gaped, and giggled. "Oh, was it now?"

Sibel laid down, "What do I do?!" Sibel asked her sister desperately trying to make sense of the situation.

"Um, well, you can do one of several things. You can avoid him for the rest of eternity, you can tell him that you like him, you can apologize and tell him it won't happen again, or you can take the government approach and deny everything." Nova offered.

"I'll probably just apologize... Gosh, what will he say to me?!" Sibel said flopping onto the bed.

"I don't know," Nova lowered her voice to a whisper. "But if I'm right, he'll tell you it's totally alright, and that he didn't actually mind it."

Sibel chuckled then stared off, "Should I talk to him now? Or wait..."

"Wait until he finds you." Nova giggled. "That means that you guys don't run into each other until you're meant to."

"Okay.... I think that I'm going to go back to the room... For the moment and try to... Um sleep? I guess," Sibel said stumbling out of the infirmary entirely unaware about what was happening in her blood.

"Oh yeah, you're gonna get to sleep!" Nova called to her sister as she left the room, and giggled once she was gone.

Sibel walked back to the room slowly accepting the situation. She didn't know what was happening but she was okay. She wouldn't tell Sheppard that she liked him.. Or maybe even more than that but she didn't regret it either.

Nova shook her head and sat up in her bed. She'd already slept that afternoon; Her body would not lay still, and she had to do something with herself. She finally resorted to doodling on a napkin, but even that began to bore her after a few moments.


	10. Chapter 10

Rodney lay awake since he couldn't fall back to sleep. He heard the doorbell sounding beep of someone at the door. He happily, odd for him, walked over and saw John, "John?! What are you doing up?"

John rubbed the back of his neck. "I uh...you got a sec?"

"Well, considering the fact that I can't fall asleep, yes!" Rodney said as he invited him in.

John smiled with an awkward tone on his face, and entered Rodney's quarters.

Rodney closed the door and sat down on a chair in the room offering John the bed kind of like a therapist, "Are you alright? You have a weird expression.."

Sheppard sat down on the bed and stared past Rodney for a moment. Then, he looked him straight-on. "What do you think has to be the weirdest thing that's happened to you, personally, since we came here?" He asked.

"Honestly? Probably the time that the other Rodney came here from the parallel universe, why?" Rodney asked totally confused by John's question. Even though he tried concentrating, Nova kept popping into his head every few seconds.

"Well, something really weird just happened to me. Dr. Callimaeve...Sibel...we were talking out on the east peer, and she just, like...kissed me, then ran off."

Rodney's smile turned into a smirk, "Oh really?" He decided to pretend to be a therapist for the moment considering that this was probably one of the longest feelings for a woman that John had had, "And how do you feel about that?"

Sheppard glared daggers. "It's not funny, Rodney." He insisted. "I don't...I can't get my mind around it..."

Rodney stared thinking about all of the things he had heard about that kind of feeling, "How did you feel about her running off?" Rodney asked trying to help John break it down.

John leaned against the wall. "I'm not actually sure. Kind of...astonished, at first..then, I dunno. I guess...I guess I wished she'd come back."

Rodney was astonished at John's behavior. He NEVER acted like this, "Did you want her to stop?" Rodney asked trying to think of more ways to break it down.

"Well...no." Sheppard shifted and leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "Can I be honest with you?"

"Yes, remember, we made that pact a while ago," Rodney said remembering that at one point they said that they would be entirely honest with each other.

I've never felt like this about anyone before. I mean...anyone. It's not...like, you know all the alien girl stuff? Well it's not like that. I guess...well...I suppose I just wanted to know what you would do if you were me." He admitted.

Rodney stared blankly at him slightly confused, "Well... I don't know. Remember, you and I have two TOTALLY different personalities... I would try to tell her... But probably fail in the process."

John sighed and put his face in his hands. "Real helpful, McKay." He groaned.

"Well, I'm sorry!" Rodney replied, "You're braver than I am, remember?! If you tried to tell her I'm sure that you could!"

"What am I gonna say?" John asked, looking up. " 'Thanks for the kiss Dr. Callimaeve, sorry that it bothered you, oh by the way I think I'm in love with you.'?"

Rodney opened his eyes wide, "Did you just say...?!"

John sat back. "...I just said that out loud, didn't I."

"Entirely," Rodney replied still shocked. John had never said anything like the such, "Um... Well... To be entirely honest.. I kind of know how you feel right now... Literally... Except without the whole kiss thing!"

John raised one eyebrow. He could feel his strength and wits returning, along with his male bravado. "Oh? How so?"

Rodney looked down and thought of Nova's smile and the fact that she was smarter than him in many areas, "Well.... I feel similar the way you feel towards Sibel.. Except towards Nova..."

A smile cracked across Colonel Sheppard's face. "THAT wasn't obvious." He mused.

Rodney glared, "I just spilled my guts and--...well...I did kind of tease you, never mind."

"Take it easy," John said. He smiled, but it disappeared. "..This doesn't leave this room." He said, in a hushed tone.

"You really think that I would blab about your feelings when you know mine?! Deal!" Rodney said as he stood up.

John stood up too, and glanced at his watch. "Whoa, we should probably..."

Rodney heard footsteps pass the door, "Agreed!" Rodney escorted John to the door even though it was only a few feet away.

The door slid open, and the colonel took a deep breath and headed back to his quarters to check out for the night.

-the next morning-

Sibel woke up feeling like she was in a dream. Yesterday actually happened. She got up and got ready so she could quickly go see her sister.

Nova was sitting up in bed with her legs crossed in front of her when Sibel arrived in the infirmary. She was bouncing up and down like she was spring-loaded, and bits of paper and napkin with doodles and sketches lay all over the bed and table, even a couple on the floor.

Sibel smiled when she saw her sister so full of energy. She walked over and moved some of the doodles out of the way so she could sit down, "Obviously you're feeling good," she smiled.

"I'm feeling fine!" She insisted. "Dr. Beckett says that I have to give my ankle at least another 24 hours of rest before I can be sure of it healing without any kind of problems."

"Well, it looks like your surviving pretty well so far," Sibel said as she began gathering up all of the doodles and sketches and putting them in a pile. She felt awkward all of the sudden as she saw Rodney McKay come in a moment later and smiled when he saw her.

Out of no understandable instinct, Nova pulled at and smoothed her hair, and sat up straighter. "Hi Rodney!" She greeted. Even though she'd stopped bouncing, she kept wiggling her toes and tapping her fingers against her legs.

"You look like you're feeling a lot better!" Rodney said happily. He felt like a lot of things were more simple now that he had expressed his feelings about Nova to John. Sibel looked around and immediately felt nervous. She started shaking as she saw John walk in behind Rodney.

Nova's smile became slightly less brilliant. "Hi, Colonel." She glanced at her sister, then back up at John.

Sibel breathed in then simply smiled at least trying not to make the situation any more awkward by looking away."

John smiled back, though awkwardly, and exchanged a glance with Rodney.

"_Say something, Sibel! Anything, this silence is...weird._" Nova thought.

"_Why don't you?! I'm the one who kissed the man I believe that I am in love with!.... Oops_" Sibel thought back, "Hi guys!"

"Hey!" John finally managed, realizing he hadn't spoken.

"How did you all sleep?" Nova asked, trying to make the atmosphere as casually comfortable as possible.

"_Probably the best sleep I ever had!_" Sibel thought to her sister.

"I slept really well actually!" Rodney said, "Kind of surprised me!"

"_That's interesting, I didn't sleep a wink last night._" Nova answered, then glanced at Sheppard waiting for his answer.

Sibel and John were lost in each others gaze again trying to search for the answer to last night's surprise in each others' eyes. Sibel turned towards her sister, "I didn't sleep at all... I think I had too much ice scream again... Yes I mean Ice SCREAM!!!!"

"Oh, I can believe that." Nova mumbled quietly. She drummed a rhythm on the bed with her fingers, boredly.

Rodney looked at Nova longing to tell her how he felt, but he couldn't, whether or not all of these people were here. Sibel bit her lip almost reading Rodney's thoughts simply by his stare at Nova. It was the same stare that she gave Colonel Sheppard most of the time.

Nova suddenly felt a flood of emotion, and her heart skipped a beat. She wasn't sure if it had come from Sibel, or if there was so much tension in the room it had begun to get to her head. A lump rose in the back of her throat, and she tried to speak, but couldn't even open her mouth. "_I feel kinda funny_."

"_I was just going to say the same thing... I feel kind of.... drowsy though...._" Sibel said starting to feel like she had immediately been drained off all of her energy. She leaned on Nova and began to close her eyes.

"Sibel, hello!" Nova poked her sister, then gave her a little shove.

"Huh?!" Sibel came back but still was very drowsy, "Um... I think that I should go lie down and read or something," Sibel said as she stood up and began walking out of the infirmary.

Nova watched Sibel leave the room, feeling once again worried for her, and her expression strongly indicated so.

"You think she's alright?" Rodney asked seeing that Sheppard still felt awkward from the night before.

"I dunno." John muttered, staring at the open door, and then walking through it. He didn't have the direct intention of following Sibel, he just felt like he needed to follow her through that particular doorway.

"I think she'll be okay," Nova said. "At least, I really hope so." She hugged her knees to her chest and made a sad face.

Rodney sat down and patted Nova's back trying to reassure her. He was worried too and hoped that if anything happened, that Colonel Sheppard would take care of it. Sibel walked into the room and picked up her book. She laid down on the bed and started reading.

Nova felt comforted by Rodney at her side, and casually leaned onto his shoulder. But she got the feeling that something didn't sit right with Sibel. In fact, she got the feeling that something sat very wrong.

Sibel sat down on her bed and read a book named Dragons and Unicorns. Suddenly she got a large pain in her chest. She clutched her chest and breathed heavily. The pain then disappeared. She shook her head and began to stand up when the pain came back, she fell to the floor. The pain grew so great she felt as though she was in labor. She started screaming as loud as she could but no sound came out. She looked around for her headset to contact the infirmary but when she reached for it another jolt of pain shot through her body. The wound on her shoulder began burning. Her muscles started aching and she fell to the floor once again. She clutched her entire body and finally let out an ear-piercing scream that you could have heard throughout Atlantis if it weren't for the strange magic that was surrounding the room. Then the pain overtook her and she fainted. She lay on the floor and the changes began to take over her body. Her body lay dormant on the floor when suddenly she came back to consciousness and began changing. Her heart had never beat so fast. She screamed as loud as she could hoping that it would make the pain go away but it stayed. She looked at her hand and it began changing. Her fingers ached as her nails grew out into sharp points. Her skin started becoming golden-yellow fur. She screamed again as her body convulsed again. She ripped off her jacket and lay there in her tank top. Her head started aching and she clutched onto it. She threw her hands onto her head and started gripping with the sharp claws drawing blood. She screamed as loud as she could but instead a roar came out. She felt fur begin to form on small bumps on her head. She threw her hands onto the floor and stared in disbelief as her hands were no longer the small, dainty women hands. They were longer and slender, they were covered in fur and her nails had turned into thick sharp claws. She looked down at her bare feet and saw the same change except that there were pads on the bottom. She convulsed again and screamed for the final time, the pain overtaking her completely and then everything went black...

Sibel woke up and looked around. Nothing in the room had changed. She was lying on her bed looking up at the ceiling. She sat u and moaned. She felt her shoulder but didn't feel the wound, instead she felt fur. She ran over to the full-body mirror and stared at the horrifying image of what she had become. She looked like a cat-creature from a Scooby Doo movie. Her body was the same, but it was covered in golden fur. Her pants were shredded and so was her tank top. Her pupils were shaped like diamonds and her eyes glowed gold. She had cat ears on the top of her head and her normal brown curly hair was now a reddish-brown and it looked like a mane. She touched the golden fur on her face and she collapsed, screaming. It was true, when you study something for so long, you begin to become it..

He wasn't sure he'd heard it, but he was sure of where he'd heard it from. Just down the hall, John Sheppard bolted and made a beeline for the door behind which Sibel was. He knocked furiously, and called her name.

The pain came back. The fur began to disappear and so did all of the cat-like features. She screamed once more as the final pain shot through her body.

"Sibel!" John shouted again, through the closed doors.

Sibel heard John's voice and threw something at the emergency door open button. She began convulsing once again as the door opened. The pain in her jaw was some of the worst of all of the pains. She felt her teeth growing in and out becoming sharp and scraping her tongue.

He didn't hesitate. He tapped on his earpiece and called for a medical team, and then rolled Sibel onto her side, holding her still as best he could by her shoulder. "Come on, come on, come on!" He mumbled.

Once again, the pain disappeared but she felt sore. She regained control of her muscles. Her eyesight became normal and she saw John. She immediately grasped onto him not knowing what had just happened. Maybe THIS was the gift that her sister and her had received. Sibel understood everything now clutching onto him. She tried to calm herself down by smelling him.

"Are you okay?" John asked, nearly melting in his boots with relief and holding on to her tightly.

Sibel couldn't speak, she simply clutched tighter and moaned. "_Nova what are you doing_?!" Sibel asked desperately wondering if her sister was going through the same process.

"_Sibel! Are you okay? You sound freaked out of your mind, and I just got a chill. What just happened_?"

"_I know what the gift was Nova... I'm a werelioness.._." Sibel thought to her sister, considering the different parts of the great cat that grew out of her body.

"_A WHAT? How did you find that out? And how come I'm not going all...were-person_?"

"_I JUST CHANGED NOVA! I started convulsing and my skin... It grew fur! It must be your medication; it's slowing down the zoanthrope poison running through your veins_!" Sibel said clutching onto John even tighter than before using his touch and smell to calm down.

A medical team showed up at the girl's quarters moments later, but John insisted on taking her up to the infirmary himself. She'd stopped convulsing, so she should be fine for now, right?

Sibel clutched onto John as she got up, surprisingly not feeling weak at all. The only reason she didn't let go was because she felt that he was a deterrent of the poison, just not the hormones. They started walking to the infirmary passing the medical team.

"Well, is she alright? I've got to see her!" Nova sputtered, upon learning of her sister's incident.

"Easy, she's resting now." Dr. Beckett told her. "She's fine, Colonel Sheppard is looking after her right now, and he'll tell you if anything changes."

Nova sat back, more fidgety than before and more worried than ever. "_Sibel! Sibel are you alright? The doctors won't let me see you._"

"_For the moment, yes. I feel perfectly fine actually. I mean, I'm a little freaked out by what happened, but physically I'm fine. They're doing scans but I know they're not going to find much._" Sibel thought back.

"Did you get a new tattoo?" Beckett asked as he pushed her hair back.

"_Probably not. My gosh sis, you scared the living daylights out of me!_" Nova didn't notice that she was shaking, and pulled a pillow up to her chest.

"What new tattoo?!" Sibel said as Beckett handed her a mirror thinking that she was just a little delirious. She looked and saw a gorgeous lion on her neck where she had been bitten, "Figures..." "_Nova check your neck when you get the chance to be alone.._." Sibel thought to her sister.

"_I already checked my neck, there was nothing there, just a sore spot_." Nova thought back.

"_Okay well apparently I have a new tattoo! Want to see?!_" Sibel said as she sent her sister a memory picture of her neck.

Nova squinted and closed her eyes, a bit taken-aback. "_It looks nice._" She joked, then noticed Rodney looking at her bizarrely, and smiled sheepishly.

Sibel breathed deeply as they finished the scans and looked at Sheppard who looked like he just watched somebody have a heart attack and was unable to do anything. She saw a different look in his eyes and she couldn't figure out what it was but she managed to choke out the words, "I'll be fine."

"You'll be fine? You'll be fine? Do those words even mean anything to you?" John asked, fire burning behind his eyes. He saw Sibel jump back, and softened. "I'm...I'm sorry." He mumbled. "It's just...you keep on saying that, and I don't think that you're _fine_."

Sibel's heart was torn, she wanted to tell him so badly but she didn't know if he would understand. No, she knew that he would understand but how could she tell him that she was a werelioness?! "I'm sorry. I can't tell you..." She said tears starting to well up in her eyes.

John's willpower crumbled, and he held Sibel's hand softly. "That's...that's okay." He whispered. "Just, tell me when you're ready."

She gave him a huge hug and felt entirely relieved. She WOULD be ready to tell him, just not yet. She had to get the idea sorted out in her own head first. She didn't let go though, she just sat there, hugging him tightly. She whispered a thank you and laid back down.

John smiled when she lay back down, and just sat there, staring into her eyes for a long moment. Then, he brushed the hair out of her face, and leaned over and kissed her forehead. "You're welcome." He whispered back.

Sibel sent the image and her feelings to her sister through their new form of communication just to see what she would say.

Nova thought of Sibel, and felt warm and happy all over. She smiled and closed her eyes. "_Sibella and Sheppard sitting in a tree.._."

Sibel woke up the next morning still in the infirmary. She didn't feel as strange as she believed that she would after her first transformation. She looked around and the bright light nearly blinded her. She heard many sounds from everywhere, not the usual ones that she heard either. She passed it off as one of the side effects of the transformation.

John had evidently come back the previous night, but hadn't been able to hold his head up after about five hours, and had passed out with his head laying on the edge of Sibel's small standalone bed.

Sibel giggled as she watched John sleeping. She took a straw that was set next to her water and started tickling his nose.

John batted at his face in his sleep, trying to fend off an imaginary bug, before he fidgeted awake and sat up. "Sibel...you're up." He said, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Sorry, I must have dozed off..."

Sibel giggled as she stared at him, "How late did you stay up you nocturnal beast?!" She asked jokingly. She twiddled with the straw in her hands then started chewing on it, quickly making it crinkled and holey.

"Um, I went downstairs for a few things, but I couldn't sleep in my quarters, so I came back up. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Like I said, I guess I dozed off." He replied.

Sibel smiled as he tried waking up. It looked like he hadn't even gotten an hour of sleep at all. She wanted to hug him again but restrained. Her entire body was sore from last night.

John smiled, and stood up. "You want breakfast?" He asked. "Because I can run down to the mess hall and grab something...not...hospital..y."

Sibel laughed, "Why not?! I'm not as okay with hospital food as my sister is...."

"Okay! So...what, bacon and...cold cereal?"

"Yeeeees," She said imagining the taste of bacon. She could nearly smell it all the way from the infirmary.

"Got it!" John pointed, and then spun around and walked out of the door and headed toward a transporter.

Sibel smiled and wondered why Nova was still sleeping. She stared at her sister for a little bit then started to let her mind wander. She started thinking about all that happened and she realized what the hormones from the lioness did to her. She smacked her head with her hand, "No wonder I couldn't resist him!"

"Hmm?" Nova was stirred by her sister's exclamation. "Yes, Sibel, I filed the report last night..." And she drifted back off.

Sibel's eyes opened wide, "Wow... she really is a heavy sleeper!" She stared at the wall and examined it for no reason, trying to make out what it was made of since she had nothing else to do.

John came back in, carrying a light metal tray stacked with a few pieces of bacon, a box of cereal, a bowl, a small room-service-sized pitcher of milk, and a glass of water. "Didn't know how much you wanted, or what you wanted to drink." He told her, and set the tray down on Sibel's bedside table, smiling. "And, I kinda stole the bacon from the kitchen, so it's hot."

Sibel stared at the food restraining from digging into it like an animal, "Thank you!" Sibel still kind of regretted last night but she couldn't do much about it now. She started eating happily saving the bacon for last, of course.

John sat back in his chair and crossed his legs. "So...I was curious...about that tattoo on your neck. I don't remember you having it when you got here." He paused. "Then again, I might just not have noticed it..."

"Um...." Sibel battled with herself in telling him not sure what to say if she did tell him, "Eh, I put cover up on it. Wasn't sure how anyone would feel about it being on my neck. At least people can't really see it if it's on my back," she lied hoping that he would understand and accept everything when she told him the truth.

John raised his eyebrows. "Oh, that makes sense. Tell you the truth, I'd probably do the same thing."

"Mmm Sibel? You awake?" Nova groaned, her hands over her face.

Sibel looked over, "You slept in again, Nova!" Sibel said turning her attention back to John, she never knew when he would have duties to tend to and leave her alone.

"Oh, gosh, what time is it?" Nova uncovered her face and glanced at her watch. "Man, how do I always do that? Hey Colonel!" She paused when she saw the circles under his eyes. "Were you here all night?...Never mind." She stretched and yawned.

Sibel blushed remembering that he did stay there pretty much all night. She put her hands together and bit her lip trying to make the redness go away, "How did you sleep, sis?"

"Surprisingly well!" Nova said. "Considering I've been couped up here for the past two days." She sat up and grabbed her hairbrush off of a bedside table, and began working out the knots in her thick hair.

"When will you be able to leave?" Sibel asked missing the entire conversation that Beckett had had with her sister about when she could leave.

"Tomorrow." Nova replied. "Beckett doesn't trust me not to hurt my ankle again, so he wants me here until it's almost completely healed." She exhaled and set her brush back down, and then ran her fingers through her hair until it fell over her shoulders and chest. "I finished the mission report, though, and even wrote a few pages for my novel. And drawn a few pictures."

"Excuse me?!!" Sibel said worried that Nova had drawn another picture of her and Sheppard. She gave her the "what did you draw?" look.

"A few pictures." Nova said, and patted a thick folder. "I had some unfinished commissions, so I decided to work on them. And I drew a couple portraits, too." She smiled. "Sitting in a bed all day makes your artistic-self pop out real good."

"Well that's good!" Sibel said still admiring her sister's artistic views. She turned back to Sheppard, "What are you going to be doing today?"

"Eh, I've got to take a team through the 'gate to retrieve something or other from this planet the wraith practically wiped out, shouldn't take more than a couple of hours, then I've got a sparring thing with Teyla down there, and I don't know other than that." He replied.

"I was just curious!" Sibel said wishing that they would let her leave the infirmary. She sighed then started eating her straw again. She felt like she was teething.

John stared at her for a minute.

"I've GOT it!" Nova exclaimed. When the other two occupants of the room stared at her, blankly, she smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. I've been...trying to figure out an aspect of a book I was writing, and it totally just occurred to me." She grabbed her notebook and began jotting a few things down in it.

John looked at his watch, and then back up at Sibel. "Well, it's time for me to get going. You want me to...I dunno...come back later, chat some?" He asked, standing up.

"Well, it is lonely in here, so yes please!" Sibel laughed as she watched her sister enter her own little world.

"Alright, I'll see you later." He said. He stood there for a moment, like he wanted to say something more, and then turned around and left.

"He likes you." Nova said, monotonously, not looking up from her writing.

Sibel stared at her sister, "Um... Yeah,.... I'm not commenting on that!" Sibel replied remembering what he had said to her last night.

Nova smirked, and the sound of scribbling filled the room.


	11. Chapter 11

Sibel ducked as the lightning fast ammunition zoomed past her head. She shot back as quickly as possible but her opponent was as fast as she. She dodged again then got hit in the arm. She grasped it as she shot another one towards her opponent hitting them in the leg.

"Surrender now, Dr. Callimaeve!" Came a shout from the enemy base. "End this while you still have your life!"

"NEVER!" Sibel yelled back at the enemy loading up her weapon. She saw an enemy trying to sneak in and spy on her she immediately shot them in the head, "Ow! What the?! A spitball?!" Rodney said as he got hit in the eye with a giant spitwad.

Nova squeaked, and ducked down behind her bed. After a moment, she poked her head above the mattress. "...Hi Dr. McKay!" She called.

"What are you two doing?!" Rodney asked seeing all of the pillows in the infirmary that weren't being used stacked on the two girls beds to make a fort. "Noooothing!" Sibel said as she and Nova continued to hide from each other.

"Absolutely nothing!" Nova agreed. "Not warring, nope. Not doing childish things that involve paper. Nope. Nothing like that. Gosh Rodney, why would you even ask that?" She was trying hard to suppress her giggles--with little luck.

Sibel started giggling uncontrollably at the look on Rodney's face. She ran over to her sister and whispered something in her ear. Then she ran back and pushed the pillows off of her bed onto the floor. She started stacking them once again then Nova joined in. They began to create an uber pillow fort facing the door. They planned to ambush anyone who walked through.

As the girls stacked pillows, Nova studied Rodney. "Think he'd make a good ally?" She whispered to Sibel.

"Maybe... He's too much of a wimp though!" Sibel said as she threw a pillow at him, "Ow!" he said as it hit his arm. "Seeeee? I THINK SHEPPARD'S COMING!" Sibel hid behind the newly finished fort. Rodney decided to run behind the fort afraid that they would mistake him for an enemy again.

"Welcome to the team, Dr. McKay!" Nova said, and then handed him a wrapped straw. "SHH!" Footsteps. In mere moments, John Sheppard entered the infirmary, to be greeted by a shower of spitballs fired by Nova and Sibel.

Sibel giggled at the look on John's face when he got pelted. She hid down lower behind the pillow fort. She still felt completely normal. None of the odd symptoms came back. She was worried about her sister though; if the medication was slowing the process of the transformation, the moment that she was off it would happen. Or at least the moment that the medication was completely out of her system.

"What the--" John took shelter behind a TV tray.

"Surrender now, Colonel Sheppard!" Nova shouted.

"You know, you don't have to say that every time you pelt someone." Rodney commented.

Nova was silent a moment. "Yes I do."

"Gosh Rodney, you just don't know the correct combatical series of... Um... I forgot the last word...." Sibel stared as she looked around and shot spitwads through one of the holes that they left in the pillow fort.

"Okay, you're messing with the wrong guy!" John called. "Just wait 'til I get--ow!" He dodged a few more pieces of lethal flying paper, and ducked behind a wire rack, and grabbed one of the few remaining pillows and launched it at the reinforced fort.

"NOVA WE'VE BEEN HIT!!!" Sibel screamed as she watched some of the fort fall apart. She got a slight adrenaline burst but it quickly disappeared. She shot back spitwads as Nova made Rodney patch up the fort.

"No, knuckle head, you have to stack horizontal then vertical!" Nova fixed Rodney's bad patch. John searched frantically for more ammo, dodging spitballs and using the TV tray as a shield when he ventured across the room.

"Nova, how's your ankle feeling?" Sibel asked desperately trying to gage when her transformation would happen. She pushed Rodney out of the way and helped Nova restore the fort, "Maybe you should be on John's side...."

"It feels fine, actually." Nova assured her sister. "Just waiting for Beckett to let me out of here so I can prove it!" And then, without warning, the three of them were covered in a thick darkness.

"AHHA!" John exclaimed from above the comforter.

Nova hit it out of instinct, and then started laughing. "How did you even find this?" She asked.

"Magical finding...things...power." John's voice was muffled.

"So be it you won!" Sibel laughed as she tried to get out of the comforter.

"Yeesh, you could have picked something lighter! I can't see a darn thing under here." Nova complained.

Sibel could tell that John wasn't going to let them out easily. She pushed against the comforter but couldn't get out. She growled jokingly then just sat there.

After a few moment, he lifted up the edge of the blanket. "Hello." And sat down on the floor, cross-legged.

"You're as stubborn as Nova!" Sibel joked as she got closer to the light. The darkness made her uncomfortable ever since the nightmarish experience in the forest with her sister.

Finding an edge, Nova threw the blanket across the room. "Wretched fiend!" She exclaimed, but she was smiling.

Sibel got back onto her bed and sat cross-legged. She was happy to see Sheppard again, they seemed to be piling work on him since the incident and he didn't get to come visit as often.

Nova continued to sit on the floor with the big pile of pillows and show Rodney several different techniques for properly stacking them, and John sat next to Sibel on her bed.

Sibel smiled as she made room for John, "Are they overworking you yet?!" Sibel giggled.

John raised his eyebrows and exhaled sharply. "Eh, no more than usual. At least I'm not stuck in the infirmary." He responded.

"No, this is the wrong way to do it." Came from the floor, followed by a _Thwap_! and Rodney's "OW! Hey!"

"Eh, it's alright. Obviously you could see how bored Nova and I were!" Sibel laughed as she looked over at the fort of pillows. "I've gotten way to much sleep, and when you're stuck here, there isn't much besides that that you can do!"

"Oh, I noticed you'd been sleeping well." He said, rubbing a small red welt on the side of his neck. "Spitballs like that should be illegal."

"Sorry, I think that was Nova's though..." Sibel said examining the welt, "Ouchie! That looks painful!" She opened her notebook and scribbled something down in it that she just remembered. She turned back to John's attention, "They haven't told me when I'll be okay to leave..."

"That would be today." Dr. Beckett's voice came from the door. Nova glanced up, and scrambled back up on to her bed, and sat there like she'd been there for the past several hours. Carson smiled.

"You're both clear to leave after a quick exam." He told them.

"YES!" Nova screamed, and hung upside-down off the edge of her bed, until her braid hit the floor.

Sibel nearly jumped for joy but restrained. She had planned that after she was free to leave she would give Rodney a few tips on wooing her sister. She got up out of the bed ready for the quick exam.

Thirty minutes later, Sibel and Nova stood outside the infirmary doors. Nova would probably have been cartwheeling--had she ever learned how to do so without crashing on her back and injuring herself. Instead, she was jumping around. "YES!" She shouted, again. "I dohohon't have to be in that bed ANY LONGER!" She shook Rodney by the shoulders. "NO MORE!"

"TOTALLY!!! I can start fighting and running again!" Sibel said excited to get back on her usual schedule. She looked at John who was by her side and smiled, "Maybe we can spar again!" Her smiled twisted into a smirk.

"Yyeah, maybe." John said, somewhat apprehensive of getting ripped to shreds again.

"YEAH!" Nova interrupted. "And I can...do...something! Something, that at this moment, involves eating. You'd be surprised how much spitting little wads of paper at each other can take it out of you. I'll be in the mess hall if you need me!" And she took off down the hall.

Sibel's eyes opened wide, "NOOO! DON'T LEAVE ME BEHIND!" Sibel quickly ran after her sister.

Rodney and John stood there for a moment not recognizing any change in either sister's behavior. "Do they seem different at all?" Rodney asked with a weird feeling in his stomach.

"Aside from the whole fainting-in-the-hallway thing, no, not really." John replied, staring after them. "They're still bouncing off the walls and clinging to each other like refrigerator magnets."

"Okay. So what did the doctors say about Sibel's physical?" Rodney asked almost feeling John's concern. They both started walking towards the mess hall; Rodney only felt comfortable asking when the girls weren't there.

"That she was healthier than ever. Same thing about Nova." Sheppard replied. "They attributed that to the extra sleep." He glanced at Rodney, and then back ahead. "Honestly, I don't think that's what it was. I'm not sure why, I just don't believe it."

"Did Sibel say anything about it?" Rodney asked still unsure if John would actually tell him. He became nervous as they came closer to the mess hall. Sibel had told him that she would give him some tips about 'how to woo her sister'; He kind of thought that she was joking but judging by the look on her face, she was entirely serious.

John rubbed the back of his neck. "She said something..._she couldn't tell me_. I guess she thinks there's something wrong."

Rodney shrugged; they entered the mess hall and saw the two girls each eating a giant bowl of ice cream and empty lunch trays at their sides. Sibel looked up and so did Nova, they giggled to each other since they had just been talking about each other's experiences. Nova had been extremely amused by the kiss thing still and Sibel found it adorable that Rodney had to get Ronan to carry her sister down to the infirmary because she fell asleep.

Nova finished off the last of her ice cream, and wiped her mouth off with a napkin. Then she smiled up at John and Rodney apologetically. "Would have waited for you, but we were really hungry." She said.

Sibel smiled, "Yeah.. It's all the bugs fault...." She started giggling uncontrollably at the joke that the two had made just before the guys walked in.

Nova, with a mouthful of water, had to look away and try her hardest not to laugh in the hopes of preventing herself from either choking, or spitting it out. Either way, she'd end up coughing and getting water all over the place, something she didn't particularly desire at the moment.

Sibel saw the strained expression on her sister's face and started cracking up. She couldn't stop laughing and started squeaking as she did when she laughed really hard.

Nova finally managed to down the water, and lay on the table with her eyes and mouth open, pretending to be dead.

"Good job," John teased, sitting down next to Sibel. "You killed her."

"Oops! That happens a lot...." Sibel laughed as she poked Nova with her spoon. She grabbed an unused fork and started combing Nova's hair with it waiting for Nova to "come back to life".

Nova jumped up, the fork tangling in her hair and being yanked out of Sibel's hand. "We don't use Dinglehoppers in this reality!" She exclaimed. "That's illegal!" Then she carefully worked the fork out of her hair, and set it down on the table, giggling.

"HOW DO YOU KNOW?! Are you secretly a Disney character in disguise?!" Sibel questioned as she jumped up and started searching on Nova for a zipper.

"Sibel!" Nova exclaimed. "You blew my cover! That was supposed to be our secret!" And she jumped up and play-tackled her sister.

"AHH!" Sibel screamed as the two girls fell to the floor, "DON'T HURT ME!" Rodney stared at the two girls with a disturbed expression on his face. The only thing that changed was that they seemed to have more energy.

"Hurt you? Why would I do that?" Nova asked, and commenced a tickle fight. John joined Rodney in looking disturbed, for lack of a better term.

"Um, maybe you two should continue this in the sparring room. Everyone's staring..." Rodney said trying to apologize for the girl's behavior with a simple gesture.

Nova and Sibel both froze and looked up. Nova stood up and dusted herself off. "Sorry." She said, and extended a hand to Sibel. "We usually don't get that carried away...with people watching."

"Yeah," Sibel stood up, "RACE YOU TO THE SPARRING ROOM!" She bolted out of the mess hall with an undeniable boost of speed.

Nova zipped after her, shouting "Hey, wait up!" And arrived at the front door moments later, panting. She stared at Sibel. "You're running fast today, even for you." She said.

Sibel stared at her sister for a moment as she braided her hair, "Hey Nova, does my hair look different to you?" Sibel said as she fidgeted with the braid staring at it up and down.

"...It looks lighter." Nova said, shrugging. "Not different, though. Maybe a bit more coarse, but I think that happens when you get trapped in a room for days." "Why, does mine?"

"No... It just looks different to me. Ah well!" Sibel took off her jacket and started practicing basic Tai Chi Quan forms to calm down. Sheppard and Rodney walked in deciding that they wanted to watch.

Nova shed her jacket on the floor, and attacked Sibel far before either of them were any kind of warmed up.

They threw punches and kicks back and forth. Nova was faster than she was before and so was Sibel. To John and Rodney, the entire thing became a blur. Next thing they knew they saw the girls stop with each other in a different kind of "ending the fight" body lock.

"My gosh, Sibel," Nova exclaimed, trying to strangle her sister. She yanked her hair out of it's confines. "It is so hot in here. Why is it so hot?!" She flipped over, taking Sibel with her. She wiped sweat off of her forehead, and got up to face her again.

Sibel breathed deeply as she backed away, "You should go back to our room. Or one of the balcony's, it's cooler there," Sibel said afraid of the consequences of her sister changing where other people would be if this was what she believed.

"Mmm, room sounds nice, a good cool shower." Nova agreed, and took of at a brisk jog, grabbing her jacket on her way out the door.

When she was gone, John said "What was that?"

"Probably hormones!" Sibel said quickly winking at John hinting at it being a "woman's thing". She grabbed her jacket and held it. She was too hot to put it back on. She decided not to follow Nova, knowing that she might kill her if it was the transformation.

Nova arrived upstairs and collapsed on the floor of her and Sibel's room. Her clothes...UGH they were touching her...and they were sweaty...sweaty clothes touching her. She pulled off her t-shirt, leaving her in a light wife-beater style tank top. She ran to the bathroom and turned the cold water in the sink on, and started splashing her face, when she noticed how much her body hurt. Her headache had spread to practically her entire body. She opened her eyes, and looked down at her hands, for a moment positive that she was seeing gloves from a Halloween costume. But they looked very real...and what was wrong with her color perception? She glanced up at the mirror...and screamed like she'd just been stabbed with a pitch fork. Except this...this was much worse.

Sibel heard the scream in her head and became worried. She turned to John. "I have to go, I'll see you soon though!" She bolted toward the room. She tried to open the door, but found it locked. "Nova! It's Sibel, let me in if you can!" Sibel said as she leaned against the door. She was worried but she wanted to be as non-pushy as possible. She remembered how she felt when she first transformed and she didn't know if her sister would want to see someone like she did, or the opposite.

An irritated grunt came through the door's sound barriers, followed by a loud "THUD!" That could easily have been a large piece of furniture.

Sibel's eyes opened wide as she stood there listening to her sister. She tried to get in again but it was still locked.

A few minutes passed, before the doors slid open. There stood Nova, her once-tight tank top hanging several sizes too big, and her messy, tangled hair clung to her face, neck, and back. She took one look at Sibel, shoved her inside, and shut the doors, before collapsing to the floor with her back against the cool metal. She looked like she would faint any moment.

Sibel sat down next to Nova and held her hand, "Are you okay?" Sibel simply asked, because she knew that she wasn't when it happened to her. She saw their small coffee table flung against the wall. There were papers all over.

Nova looked up at her sister, but it was less than one second before she was sobbing hysterically.

Sibel held her sister as closely and tightly as possible. She smoothed out her hair and they both sat there. Sibel wanted to start crying but she didn't have enough tears yet from her transformation. It must have been harder on Nova because her medication held off the poison.

Finally, Nova looked up, and wiped tears off of her face. "What...that...was that..." She took a deep breath, and attempted to gain control of her speech. "The planet, that..._creature_..."

"The same thing happened to me, Nova. I told you that I couldn't explain it, and now you know." Sibel grabbed a couple tissues and handed them to her sister.

Nova gratefully took the tissues. "Will it happen again?" She asked. "Because...I don't...think...I don't think I could survive." She inhaled sharply, and hugged her sister, attempting not to burst into tears again.

"I think that you went through the entire process already," Sibel said as she held her sister closely. "What do YOU want to do?"

"What do I want to do? At this moment? Die. After that, it's a little fuzzy." Nova moaned.

Sibel chuckled as she held her sister, "Don't die, who will braid my hair! I can't do a french braid to myself!"

Nova laughed quietly, and sat up. "Alright, I'll stay around. But just to do your hair!" She pointed.

Sibel laughed again. "Okay, want me to pay you?"

Nova wrinkled up her nose and shook her head. "Nah, I'll do it for free. Where'd you leave the guys?"

"In the sparring room. You better change and wash your face a little bit." Sibel said, as she stood up and helped Nova up as well.

"Mm, thank you." Nova said, still a little dizzy. She grabbed a fresh shirt and pair of pants out of a dresser drawer, and walked to the bathroom to get cleaned up.

Sibel sighed as she decided that she would take a break from being her tomboyish self. She got a nice white t-shirt style shirt on and put on clean pants. She sat on her bed and waited for her sister to be cleaned up. She was calm and patient knowing how her sister felt.

Nova came back out. Her eyes were still a little red, but other than that, it was nearly impossible to tell that she'd just been through anything traumatic; Her black shirt was tucked neatly into her blue jeans, her face was clean, and her hair was combed and pulled into a tight ponytail.

"Too bad you can't really have nice dinners here huh? We could wear dresses and make the guys flip out!" Sibel laughed as she imagined the scene.

Nova giggled. "That would be something. Can you see me wearing heels? I'd be bumping into the tops of doorways!" She joked.

"Ha! We both would be! But I've worn heals before," Sibel stood up. "Ready?"

Nova took a deep breath, and stood up as well. "Yep! Totally. Mostly, anyway."

"Don't worry, you'll be fine! Well.. You will get odd bursts of adrenaline from time to time and um... You may have to restrain yourself from tackling McKay every once in a while, if not restrain from kissing him. But so far that's all that has changed!" Sibel tried to explain what she had experienced so far.

Nova raised her eyebrows. "Oh, that's what that was." Before she had a moment to explain, they ran into Sheppard and McKay, who were just walking casually down the hall, headed for who-knows-where.

"_That's what what was?_" Sibel couldn't tell if her sister was talking about her or herself.

"_Nothing! I was just...thinking out loud._" "Hi John, Rodney." She cleared her throat, and glanced over at Sibel as the men returned a greeting.

Sibel smiled, "Where were you two headed?" Sibel tried to keep herself contained as she remembered the night when she had kissed John. Neither of them had said a word about yet neither of them felt awkward either.

"Just, for a walk, or a movie, or something." He half-shrugged in his usual manner. "Honestly have no idea."

Sibel glanced over at Nova remembering how they joked about a "fancy" dinner. She didn't know what her sister was thinking or what they should do next.... "Well, can we join you two?" Sibel asked.

"Of course!" Sheppard replied.

Nova smirked and elbowed her sister gently. "_He misses you. He longs for your presence_!"

"_Just as McKay longs for yours dear sister!_" Sibel chuckled as she realized that she sounded like she was in a fantasy/medieval movie. She walked over to Sheppard's side and gestured her sister to do the same with McKay.

Nova threw a playful scowl at Sibel, and then joined Rodney in a similar manner. "We're off to see the wizard!" She murmured.

"The wonderful wizard of Oz!" Sibel finished Nova's sentence quietly as possible then laughed.

Nova giggled, and the four of them started walking. She started tapping her fingers together, and then against the back of her neck, before she said "So, what are we doing again?" She spun around and started walking backward, facing the group.

Sibel's eyes opened wide. "NOVA LET ME PLAY WITH YOUR HAIR!" She ran over to her sister and pushed her into one of the storage rooms. "You guys can't come in until she's finished!" Sibel breathed out as she closed the door.

Nova stumbled backward into the small storage closet, as Sibel slammed the door and fumbled around for the light. "No offense Sibel, but do we really need to be in here for you to braid my hair?"

Sibel looked around able to see in the dark better, somehow becoming much more accustomed to the dark. She turned on the light and breathed out. She took out a small mirror that she forget to take out of her pocket and handed it to Nova. "You don't have any tattoos, love. Or at least you didn't..."

Nova snatched the mirror and stared at it. Then, she pushed Sibel's hair away and studied the lion. "You...didn't happen to have fangs and claws and golden fur when you did that thing...did you?" She asked, biting her lip.

"I told you that I turned into a werelioness... The tattoo must have appeared after the transformation..." Sibel replied not entirely understanding her sister's question.

Nova pulled the scrunchie out of her hair and let it fall around her shoulders, concealing the mark. "The guys can't see this, they barely bought your story, no way will they buy that it happened twice."

"I know, that's why I said that I had to play with your hair. They believe me enough about my tattoo since I have a giant one on my back, but you're clean," Sibel said making her sister's hair wave around her neck.

"Makeup!" Nova said. "Tomorrow morning, before we come downstairs, we've got to cover it up. It'll be rough, but it should work. I have some cover-up in my bag, I brought it in case I got burned." She shuddered. "I hate burn marks."

Sibel sighed as she felt her neck. "Well, just tell me when you're ready to go out. I'll hide it as best as possible from them."

Nova took a deep breath, shook her hair around just a tiny bit more, and said "Okay, I'm ready."

Sibel opened the door and walked back over to Sheppard's side. She smiled at Rodney as Nova walked out as well. She winked at him then turned back to Sheppard, "Where were we going again?"

"If memory serves, we were off to see the wizard." John joked, smiling at Sibel.

Sibel laughed then looked at her sister, "_It's alright. You can't see it. And we're good liars anyway, I'm sure we could come up with something if someone does see it..._" Sibel thought. "WE COULD um... WATCH MIGHTY MORPHING POWER RANGERS THE MOVIE!" Sibel stared off at the distant wall.

"I don't think we have that one." Rodney commented, glancing over at the far-off Sibel.

"I'm tired of sitting still, anyway." Nova said. "We could...um...OOH outside sounds nice! OR OR we could run a race! NO! We could have a cup-throwing contest where we steal the paper cups from the kitchen and throw them at the trashcans! OR! OR! Or we could...um...GO OUTSIDE!"

"O-M-G WE SOOOO SHOULD!" Sibel yelled back, "Let's go outside!" Sibel said as she linked arms with her sister.

"We're OFF to see the wizard!" Nova shouted, grabbing Rodney and motioning for Sibel to do the same to John.

Sibel did the same to John, but the men looked at the two girls like they were crazy. Sibel stared at her sister and they both started skipping off, dragging the guys along.

"_They think we're nuts_." Nova told her sister, but didn't seem too bothered by it.

"_Aren't we?_" Sibel asked back as they reached "outside".

Nova's smile grew. "_Indeed we are._" "Fresh air!" She took a deep breath. "That...smells...AMAZING!" And then let out a huge sigh.

"Seriously! Being kept in that infirmary so long, it feels like... I can't even explain it! My brain is dead!" Sibel commented as she ran over to the railing and looked over the edge. She leaned really far, but still held her balance.

"DEAD BRAIN! That is a PERFECT explanation." Nova agreed, and knelt down by the railing, looking out over the vast body of water surrounding Atlantis.

The two girls leaned over and the guys ran over to pull them back. "What?! We were fine!" Sibel said back slightly sad that John pulled her back.

Nova wriggled out of Rodney's grip, and bounced on her toes some more. "Okay, I'm bored already. We've got to DO...SOMETHING!" She spun around with her arms out, and then started laughing. "Look, I'm a helicopter! LOOK OUT SIBEL I'MA CHOP YOU!" She spun closer to her sister as she spoke.

Sibel's eyes opened wide as she dodged away from Nova's death chop, "You'll never catch me coppers!" Sibel ran away to the other side of the balcony and took out a gum ball. She threw it at her sister.

"YECH!" Nova exclaimed, hit in the side of the face with the small round object. "You better not have been sucking on that before." She looked at it on the ground. "Ew you were! It's all gray and stuff!" She kicked it at the railing, but it bounced back off a small metal bar. "Stupid...did you ever notice that when you try to throw something small through a chain link fence, it almost always hits the metal, and when you try to hit the metal, it just goes through?"

Sibel stared, "Yes..." Sibel ran over and tackled her sister, "RAWR! I'm a tiger!" Sibel bounced around the balcony on all fours.

"Maybe we should get dinner or something..." John pointed out, glancing at his watch.

"Are you suggesting that Sibel eat you?" Nova asked, hiding behind Rodney from said party.

Sibel's eyes opened wide as she popped up behind John and bit his shoulder. She then ran over and hid behind Nova.

"What am I, a human shield?" Rodney asked, but not moving from in front of the girls.

Nova giggled. "Perhaps."

On some whim, John said "Alright then, let's go!" And picked Sibel up and slung her over his shoulder--to which Nova's response was insane laughter.

Sibel stared, "I am definitely not used to this..." Sibel simply hung limp as John carried her inside. She stared at her sister and was smirking, "_I could totally get used to being carried like this!_" Sibel thought.

"_I bet you could._" Nova responded, following alongside Rodney. John put Sibel down right outside the mess hall doors, most likely as not to draw attention. Nova tried to calm herself down, but she got so worked up that it was difficult to stop giggling.

Sibel saw her sister giggling uncontrollably and started giggling with her as they walked into the mess hall.

"Dinertiiiiime!" Nova sang, realizing for the first time that her blood sugar was low, if not dangerously so. It might even have been the cause of her fidgeting.

Sibel ran over with Nova and loaded their trays up with food. They sat down at the table and started scarfing the ridiculous amount of food.

Once her plate was completely cleared, Nova set her head on the table and sighed. "I feel much better." She mumbled, then sat up, smiling.

"As do I, I don't think I've ever eaten this much in one sitting, though! It kind of scares me... It's like there's a creature in mah belly." Sibel stared at the two girl's empty trays.

"It's always like that for me." Nova smirked across the table at Rodney. "I'm sure I'm not alone in that."

Sibel laughed as she picked up the two trays and put them away. She sat back down and grabbed her sister's hand. She started flopping it around like it was a toy. Then she bit it lightly and held on.

"Bad kitty!" Nova shouted, flicking Sibel on the forehead.

Sibel meowed as she got flicked and let go of her sister's hand. She growled under her voice and crossed her arms. She pouted as she stood up and went to the other side of the table. She sat next to Rodney, only to annoy him by playing around with the little hair he had and biting his shoulder. "Want to join?" She asked her sister.

Without responding to her sister's question, Nova climbed over the table and sat next to Rodney, putting her arm on his shoulder and yanking on several hairs atop his head, making weird growling/meowing sounds in his ear.

John stared at the girl's odd behavior as Rodney sat there, traumatized.

"_He smells like mouthwash._" Nova thought, glancing at Sibel.

"_Haha, he was getting ready._" Sibel winked at her sister as she stood up and traded spots with her sister so she could end up sitting by John.

John looked at Sibel a bit apprehensively, and Nova started to fiddle with the Canadian flag patch on Rodney's jacket.

Sibel smiled playfully then leaned on John's shoulder.

"You're not gonna do something weird...like, bite my ear off, are you?" John asked, playfully, and put his arm over Sibel's shoulders, casually.

Sibel giggled, "Not right now. I don't bite ears usually. I uke attack them!" Sibel explained leaving what exactly a uke attack was, out.

"Oh, well, that's good to hear. I think." John responded. "You okay over there, Rodney?" He teased, glancing over Sibel at McKay.

"Yeah, um...Can you just not ask that question at the moment?" Rodney said as Nova tried to look through his ear and out his head.

"Oh my gosh, I see your brain!" Nova exclaimed. "Does it get darker in there when you close your eyes?" She asked, and put her hands over Rodney's eyes. "Nope, guess not."

Rodney stared off into the distance trying to keep as calm as possible. Sibel laughed as she watched the look on Rodney's face change as he jumped up when Nova accidentally touched a ticklish spot.

Nova smirked, and poked him again.

John smiled and shook his head. "Sometimes, I feel sorry for the guy. Sometimes."

Sibel was extremely comfortable lying on John's shoulder. Still the awkwardness to her was imminent. She felt that urge again and decided to take a break to try and calm down. She sat up and looked over at Nova, "You want to go for a run with me?"

"Okay!" Nova agreed, deciding it was about time to stop tormenting McKay anyway. "But doc said take it easy, so I can only go a couple laps." She jumped up from the table and patted Rodney on the head, a kind of assurance that she'd be back to cause trouble.

Sibel chuckled and smiled at John, still feeling awkward that neither of them had said anything about that one night. She grabbed her sister's arm and drug her away to the bridges above the jumper room.

Out of hearing and sight of everyone except her sister, a great relief swept over Nova. She took a deep breath, and then let it out as a hum, before she bent backwards and attempted to pop her neck. "It's been so long since I've had a decent work out, I'm actually beginning to miss having you on my back about it all the time!" She admitted.

Sibel began stretching out but stayed silent. Chaos was flying through her thoughts, "Why do you think that he hasn't said anything?" Sibel took off her jacket and felt the tattoo-like scar on her neck.

"Good question." Nova said, pinning her hair up. She couldn't very well run with it flopping around in her face.

Sibel sighed. "Well, let's just hope that nothing bad is going to happen!" She started jogging to the other side of the bridge with her hair back in a ponytail.

Nova took a deep breath, and caught up with her sister.


	12. Chapter 12

"Ah, c'mon, don't be so uptight Rodney!" John said, back in the mess hall.

"IT WAS THE WEIRDEST FEELING IN THE WORLD JOHN! Trust me, you DON'T want Sibel to do that to you..." Rodney barked back.

"Well she doesn't really strike me as the kind of person who would pat someone on the head," Sheppard remarked, cocking his head to the side. "But then again, they've both done some pretty unexpected things in the past, so there's really no telling." He was smirking, big time.

Rodney rubbed the sweat off his forehead. "We haven't heard much from the wraith at all lately have we?" Rodney realized the odd silence from their ongoing and everlasting enemy.

John furrowed his eyebrows. "Actually, no. They're a little overdue for a visit, wouldn't you say?"

"Gives me the creeps!" Rodney replied, "Even though we're getting weekly check-ins from Todd, even he has noticed the silence of his species. I think that something is going on..." Rodney stood up, determined to go to the gate room and try to contact Todd.

John followed, suddenly wrought with a new concern. Normally, silence from one or two hives for a few months was pretty normal, but silence from all of them at once...it brought to light a few possibilities, and made the Lieutenant Colonel slightly nervous.

The two men walked towards the gate room. Time passed and Todd gave them no answers for he hadn't heard anything either.

"You believe something is wrong?" Todd asked in his normal curious manner.

"It's been a _really_ long time since we even heard about a culling! There has to be something wrong!" Rodney snapped back.

"McKay's right, they've never kept quiet like this. Not all of them at once." John agreed. "I mean, little breaks are good, but this...this is suspicious."

"I would say that I agree. Even for them being my kind, it is not like them to go on silent like this for so long," Todd replied. "I will try and contact another hive, but if I have no luck, I can't do much else." the transmission ended.

"Well, so much for that." John sighed. "Do you think we should talk to the new kids about this?" He asked, slightly worried that such news might scare them, especially in light of recent events.

"Why wouldn't we? Maybe they can come up with a logical explanation," Rodney replied as the two started walking to where they predicted the girls would be.

"Yeah, if there's one thing they're good at, it's explaining things. Every thing." Sheppard said. They met up with Nova and Sibel, who were arguing about where they had set the finish line, each insisting that the other had changed it at the last minute.

Sibel saw the guys and tackled Nova to the ground. She took her sister's hair out quickly and spread it around her sister's shoulders. She quickly jumped back up and smiled.

Nova hauled herself from the ground, shaking her head around. "Sibel, what the--" Then she noticed the men, and smiled. "Thank you, that pony tail was KILLING me!" She cleared her throat. "Hello."

"We need to talk to you two," Rodney said trying to get straight to the point.

"About what?" Sibel raised an eyebrow as she examined Rodney's and John's expressions.

"Maybe we should take a walk." Sheppard said, and the four of them started moving. Once they'd traveled several meters, he began to explain. "Remember, when you first got here, you had all sorts of questions about the wraith, and Dr. Beckett was saying how he hoped you'd never see one?"

"Yes!" Sibel said not afraid of anything since her sister's and her experience with the unknown zoanthrope. "Why?"

"Well, when he said that, we were expecting an attack any moment. They've been quiet for a really long time...longer than usual. Normally, we don't go without an attack for more than five or six weeks." He stopped talking for a moment.

"What are you trying to say?" Nova asked.

"We haven't heard from them in three months." John told them.

Sibel started searching through the knowledge that she had of other worlds. "_Maybe there's another creature that's started growing in numbers..._" She tried to make sense of the situation.

Nova glanced at Sibel, and then back at John. "That doesn't make sense. I mean, it seems to me like if they were planning a full-scale attack, it wouldn't have taken them more than two months." She decided to put voice to her sister's thoughts, and said "Would it make sense for something to be...I dunno, wiping them out? I mean, I've read all of the mission reports on the trip on the Daedalus, so I know what else is out there according to you guys, but the Goa'uld are stuck billions of light years away as far as we're concerned, and that wraith guy that caused everyone so much grief is dead, but...do you suppose that we're missing something? That maybe there's something not on file out there that we don't know about?" This was where Nova's obsessive sci-fi watching came in, and her imagination started to go a little wonky.

"We don't know," Rodney said, trying to think of a solution. "I've pondered everything from parallel universe creatures, to the wraith hybrids. Nothing seems to be coming up."

"What about were-creatures?" Sibel accidentally spoke aloud.

Nova squinted, but didn't want to give anything away, so remained silent.

"You...do know that this is real life we're talking about, right?" John said. "I'm no scientist, but as far as I'm concerned, everything we've encountered has an explanation that the people who are scientists," He motioned toward Rodney, "Can see and prove."

"_If only they knew what we saw back there. Or what's been going on for the past week_." Nova thought to Sibel.

"Listen, the wraith are a vampire-like hybrid of human and bug. Who said there can't be similar creatures like them except mixed with other unknown animals of this universe. I've read the reports about the laboratory that you found. Those weren't just wraith mixed people, they had other creatures in them that we don't even know about!" Sibel said trying to make her case. She put her jacket back on even though she was starting to sweat. She might have needed to run away in a minute and she didn't want to have to come back for her jacket.

John nodded slightly. "True..." He agreed, reluctantly. Nova noticed Sibel looking worried, and looked at her in that 'are you going to be alright?' kind of way.

Sibel's anger turned into rage, unsure of what the rage was towards she simply told the two men, "I'm sorry, I have to go!" She ran off towards one of the balconies to get out into the fresh air.

Nova glanced at John, who looked back and forth between Rodney and her for a moment, and then walked slowly after Sibel. Nova smiled, glad he got the message, and also glad that she could talk to her sister without having to follow her.

"_You okay? What happened?_" She asked.

"_I started getting extremely angry for some reason... I don't know why though. I started burning up again like when I kissed John._" Sibel replied.

Nova stopped walking, much to the confusion of Rodney. "_Like when you kissed John, before you did the weird morphing thing...right, Sibel?_"

"_Yeah... Um yeah..._" Sibel replied not sure what else to say. She stared out at the ocean. "_Maybe I was angry because it reminded me of how people back on earth don't believe anything anymore. They believe that science is the answer even though even science says that it can't prove everything!_"

"_I know, I felt it too. I just...guess I didn't react as strongly as you did._"

"Sibel?" John's voice came from behind her, in an unusually meek manner.

Sibel jumped, "Oh... You scared me!" Sibel said as she wiped the sweat off of her brow trying to hide the heat that she was feeling.

"You...okay?" He asked, putting a hand gently on her shoulder, his intense eyes not once leaving her face.

"I'll be fine, just needed to calm down. I know that science can't prove everything, so I kind of get angry when I hear stuff about it proving stuff. I know that there are things happening right now that science CANNOT explain so I haven't mentioned it..." Sibel calmed herself down as she talked about it.

John stared out over the ocean for a moment, letting a quizzical expression settle across his face. Finally, he said "You think science can explain why you kissed me the other day?" His voice was so quiet, it was barely audible over the crashing of the waves.

Sibel's facial expression disappeared and so did all color. Then she began blushing a very bright red. "Uh-um.." Sibel couldn't speak at all she was so embarrassed and nervous.

Sheppard realized that he'd made things very awkward, and tried hurriedly to fix it. "I--I mean, I wasn't..._complaining_...I just thought it was time to bring it up, but I didn't want to in the hospital, and..."

Sibel giggled nervously as she heard John stumble, "Honestly... It's hard to explain..." She looked at the ocean trying not to face John or even look at him, afraid that the urge would come back.

He put his hand on top of hers, also staring out, now avoiding eye contact. He took a deep breath, and turned toward her. "You know, it wasn't _that_ bad."

Sibel's cheeks flushed again, "Listen, I'm sorry. It was a... I can't explain it without blowing a couple secrets but it was.... HORMONES!" Sibel came up with the perfect explanation for that moment.

"You know, you use that excuse a lot." John said, smiling, and stared at her silently for a long, long moment.

"Well, seriously... I've been going through really CRAZY mood swings and..." Sibel saw that 'whatever you say even though I kinda know that it's bull crap' look in John's eyes.

"So, why, really, did you scream in your room the other day?" He asked.

Pain..." Sibel replied knowing that it truly was the answer. "Pain ran through my entire body. Not like pins an needles... Like knives and bullets... I couldn't make it go away and well.. That's why I screamed..." Sibel replied as she recalled that night.

"Oh. I'm...sorry." John said, slightly disappointed for lack of a more colorful, interesting explanation. "Knives and bullets, really?!"

"Yeah... It was... Kinda horrifying... There is a deeper reason but I'll tell you that when I'm ready... It's darker than you could imagine." Sibel sighed as she finally turned towards John who hadn't taken his eyes off of her.

He smiled softly when she turned, and still didn't avert his gaze. "As long as you're comfortable."

She smiled back, "I will tell you, I promise. Just not yet...." She stepped closer.

John put both hands on her face. "Good. You shouldn't talk right now, anyway..."

"Sibella, tell him that it's SOUTHERN California where the surfers live, and Berkeley is a--" Nova had been running up onto the balcony a few feet ahead of Rodney, but froze when she saw John and her sister. "I'm...interrupting something, aren't I?"

Sibel and John both jumped back from each other as Nova came out. Sibel's face flushed again. "_GO AWAY NOVA!!! HE WAS ABOUT TO KISS ME!_" Sibel yelled at her sister in her head.

"_SORRY! SORRY SORRY!_" And then, aloud, "Rodney, don't follow me!" Nova dashed back inside, shoving Rodney back through the doors.

John had flushed crimson, unable to hide his embarrassment and excitement.

Sibel watched as Nova left. She turned back to John and saw him blushing, causing her to blush as well. "She always comes in at those awkward moments...."

"She has a knack for that, doesn't she?" John asked, now finding it difficult to look away from his hands sitting on the railing. But, he forced himself to turn his attention to Sibel. He'd started something that he fully intended to finish, awkward and embarrassed or not.

Sibel's color came back, her eyes seemed to be highlighted with moonlight. The strange urge was came back but it was hopefully going to leave again.

The feeling seemed to pass through the air, as John once again replaced his hands on Sibel's face. He leaned toward her, and seemed a bit hesitant for a moment, but regained his confidence and, before he could mentally talk himself out of it, planted a huge kiss right on her lips.

Sibel felt like she was in a dream. The time passed away and she didn't know how long they were there kissing. She didn't open her eyes once and she simply felt John's lips touching her own. She felt like she was stranded on an island where she had everything she needed and more.

John wasn't sure either of how long they stood there like that. When eventually they pulled apart, both were paralyzed. The wind was blowing now, ever so slightly, and the sound of ocean waves crashing against the lower barriers of the city was the only sound on the balcony audible over blood rushing in his ears.

Sibel could barely breathe even though the foreign ocean air was like filtered air from a humidifier. She stood there motionless and felt the urge disappear. She kept her eyes closed for several moment and opened them to find John in the same position that she was, trying to catch his breath. "_Nova... You will never believe..._" Sibel thought as she stared back at John who was only a few inches away from her.

"_What? WHAT? Did you kiss? Are you still kissing him? Geez don't tell me about it yet, focus on what's happening right now_!"

"Well...now we're even." John teased. "Granted, that wasn't as unexpected as last time, but..." His eyes seemed to search hers.

Sibel could barely speak since she was trying to catch her breath. She stood there, motionless in front of John for several minutes before saying, "_So he really is head over heels for me_?" to Nova but accidentally saying it out loud as well.

"He really is." John said, a mischievous smile that was genuinely John Sheppard plastered across his face.

Sibel was speechless again as she heard Nova squealing in her head. She didn't know whether to run off or hold him close. She kinda felt like kissing him again but that would just be too easy for the little werelioness, wouldn't it?

John stared at her for several more moments, then cleared his throat, and extended a hand. "So, you feel like facing a movie tonight?" He asked.

"As long as it's violent... um and not romantic.. I think that I get enough of that without the movies helping!" Sibel laughed as she realized what she said out loud again.

"Violent, not romantic, got it." He smiled. "Well, that's new. C'mon, let's go see what we have."

Sibel and Sheppard left the balcony, "_OMG NOVA THAT WAS AMAZING!_" Sibel screamed to her sister through their mind connection.

"_I was RIGHT, wasn't I?! HE TOTALLY LIKES YOU! AND HE KISSED YOU DIDN'T HE!_" Nova screamed back. She smirked over at Rodney. "She's making progress." Her words seemed completely random and irrelevant, but she didn't care, she was bursting with happiness for her sister.

"_HE TOLD ME THAT HE WAS HEAD OVER HEELS OVER ME HE ADMITTED IT!_" Sibel screamed again as she restrained from jumping up and down.

"_NO WAY!_" Nova screamed and hugged Rodney. "I'm going to go find my sister and tell her good night!" She said, and ran off. "_I'm coming to find you_!"

"_Okay, hurry up and run_!" Sibel giggled as she continued walking with Sheppard.

Nova broke into a run, and eventually crossed paths with the two. "John! Sibel! Hello! I wasn't expecting to find you here. Actually, I was...mind if I borrow my sister from you for a moment?"

Sibel smiled as her sister grabbed her arm and pulled her away, "I'll just meet you in the movie room!" Her sister dragged her into an empty corridor. Sibel leaned against the wall afraid that she would become uberly sore with the large smile she wore on her face.

Nova looked up and down the hall to make sure she was alone with her sister, before screaming "TELL ME EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED!"

"Okay, first he asked if I was okay, cause I ran and stuff, right? Then he said something like 'I guess that science can't explain why you kissed me either' or something. And then I told him that I couldn't tell him entirely what happened that night! And then, he said 'You shouldn't need to talk anyway' and then YOU CAME OUT!" Sibel began the first explanation

"I know, I came up and ruined it all, but obviously something else happened, or you wouldn't have been walking toward the theatre holding hands with your Mr. Perfect!" Nova said, in a hushed squeal.

Sibel slid down the wall. "Then after you left...We said something...then it all became a blur, like a dream. He kissed me..." Sibel sighed then jumped up with joy knocking invisible balloons through the air. "HE KISSED ME NOVA!"

Nova screamed and grabbed Sibel by the shoulders, shaking her.

"It was the most amazing experience I could have ever had when kissing someone... It was just... MAGICAL!" Sibel replied as her sister stopped shaking her, "I don't think that there is a way for me to calm down!"

"Then you should go back to him and complete your perfect evening with a movie! Pshh, you don't need me here, get!" Nova shoved her sister toward the movie room. "And don't stay out too late!" She teased, giggling.

Sibel smiled, "BYE!" Sibel bolted with unnatural speed to the movie room and sneaked in without John even noticing. She sat on the couch, and waited for him to turn around and notice that she was there.

It took several moments for the colonel to notice something moving in his peripheral field of vision, and he turned and saw Sibel. "Oh, hey!" He said, after he jumped, a little bit startled by her quiet entry. He smiled. "Just thinking of what to put on. And waiting for you."

Nova dashed back to where she'd left Rodney. When she found him, it took all of her self-control to walk normally and use a regular tone of voice. "Well, it's official now." She said, smiling so big her face might fall off at any moment.

"What's official?" Rodney asked blankly, confused by her sudden exit and entry.

"IT'S official! You know, my sister and the Lieutenant Colonel...they've got a thing?" She smirked excitedly. "They're together now!"

Rodney's eyes opened wide. "He told her that he thought that he was in love with her?!" Rodney asked, and then realized that he blurted out the Colonel's secret.

"Um, I'm not sure what his exact words were," Nova said, completely oblivious to the fact that Rodney had given anything away. "Something about being head-over-heels." She hefted a deep sigh. "FINALLY. I mean, from the moment we stepped off the Daedalus...oh, whatever." Her smirk grew to a grin.

"Wow, that's pretty insane..." Rodney said sadly wishing that he could tell Nova how he felt. "I have a question, if you don't mind my asking."

"Of course, go ahead!" Nova said, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"What happened the other night when you ran off to your room?" Rodney asked. He was still confused about everything aside from longing to be like Sibel and John.

Nova thought back to the night she was sure Rodney was speaking of, and then tried to think of a good excuse. "Um, well, my head hurt, and...it was too warm. And...I needed...um..." Darn it, she wished Sibel was there, she was SO good at thinking of reasons. "I felt...nauseated! And I was afraid that...well, you know what normally happens when a person feels nauseated. And I don't mean hungry nauseated, either." She twiddled her thumbs, desperately hoping he bought it.

"Well, I can kind of understand," Rodney felt disappointed, knowing that she wasn't telling the full truth, but hopefully she would tell him in time. "Well, what do you want to do?!"

Nova read the disappointment on his face, and it hurt, but she knew she couldn't tell him what really happened. She wasn't even exactly sure WHY she couldn't tell him, she just knew she couldn't. But she perked up a little when he seemed to let it go so quickly. "Well...if you have any means, I'd like to visit the mainland. I haven't seen dry land since I left home over a month ago." She said, smiling. Aside from that, she also enjoyed being outside at night. It made her feel strangely good, refreshed, happy.

Rodney smiled, which was rare for him, and stood up, "Why not! Um... Maybe they can teach you how to control a puddle jumper... In all honesty, I'm not that good."

Nova felt good already, the prospect of learning something new making her tingle all over. Plus, the way that Rodney had just smiled didn't exactly put a damper on her mood. "Alright, let's go, then!"

Rodney and Nova traveled to the jumper bay and got in after they got permission to leave Atlantis. Rodney taught Nova all the basics of flying a Puddle Jumper, "Well, I think that's it..."

"Really? That's not so bad!" Nova said, getting a feel for the controls. "My dad was a Black Hawk mechanic before he went into computers. He tried to explain to me how to fly a Huey..." She blew air through her teeth, then laughed. "I think you'd probably better take us up this time, though, I was never good at night driving."

Rodney and they switched places as they left the jumper bay and headed towards the mainland. The two laughed and made jokes as they flew. Rodney landed the puddle jumper as smoothly as possible to no prevail.

Nova climbed out the back of the jumper, and took a deep breath of fresh, beachy air. "Mmm, the lack of pollution is certainly a credit." She said, smiling as Rodney exited the jumper as well.

"Yeah, no radiation from the mainland either!" Rodney joked, accidentally expressing his phobia of any kind of damaging radiation.

Nova giggled and stared up at the stars. She'd never been good at astronomy, but she still felt bizarre not being able to recognize any constellations. "There's things that bother me more than radiation." She murmured, a long list of profound fears rushing through her mind and giving her the chills.

"Like bugs?" Rodney asked.

Nova glared playfully. "Like bugs." She said, and pulled her jacket closer to her, attempting to escape the rapidly cooling night air.

Rodney took a blanket out of the jumper and sat down on a rock. He handed the blanket to Nova and gestured her to sit down with him.

Nova smiled a thanks, and sat down as well. "It's nice out here." She sighed.

"Yeah," Rodney decided to name all of the constellations that he knew so far trying to teach Nova how to remember them.

She wasn't any more interested in the constellations of the Pegasus Galaxy than of the Milky Way, but it was soothing to listen to Rodney's voice, explaining the story behind each picture in the sky. "You know," She said, to fill in a quiet moment. "When I was little, I wanted to be an astronaut. That was before I was diagnosed with free-floating anxiety, and I started getting weird and scared of things that I couldn't comprehend."

"I understand that. My phobia list is too long to count," Rodney laid back on the rock and stared into the sky. "Why did you want to study bugs?"

Nova shifted so that she was more comfortable. "Well, I'm not sure, to be quite honest. I think it started out as having something to do with a book I wanted to write. I was doing research, and I got a little involved, and Sibel was so far into zoology and mythology, I guess after a few months I decided to pursue it. Well, that, and I watched a countless number of science fiction as a teenager, and bugs are a big factor at least once in every sci-fi show, right?"

Rodney chuckled. "So you really are a sci-fi freak."

Nova smirked. "Everybody called me Mrs. Mulder when I was in high school, I'd say 'sci-fi freak' is a safe assumption." She looked over at him. "I guess I really don't have to ask why you went into astrophysics, it's pretty obvious."

Rodney shrugged and looked back up at the sky. "Why did YOU want to come to Atlantis?"

"My sister dragged me out here, I was actually preoccupied with several projects. She said she needed my help, and could use my expertise to help her further her investigation of the Iratus bug. I didn't want to come." She looked out at the sky as well. "But now...well, now I'm just glad I let her drag me on a three-week space ship ride to another galaxy." Nova said, in a hushed tone.

Rodney chuckled, "Okay this may sound odd but, what do you think of me?" Rodney asked, since everyone called him arrogant and mean most of the time. He wanted a straight-up honest answer from the girl he loved.

Nova giggled. "First impression, or what do I think now?"

"Both, if you wouldn't mind." Rodney replied, nervous of what she would say.

"Well, when I first met you, I thought you were a stuck-up pompous know-it all." Upon Rodney's fallen expression, Nova gave him a friendly shove. "But now, not so much. I think you're a nice, brilliant, misunderstood person. And a good friend." She threw him a soft smile.

Rodney began blushing, which he didn't do often, and simply muttered a small, "Thanks, I guess..." as he continued to concentrate on the stars.

Nova looked past him for a moment, and then back up at the sky. It really was a nice night.


	13. Chapter 13

Sibel jumped onto her sister's bed and started bouncing up and down. "WAKE UP WAKE UP!"

"Mm, no, it's not morning yet, go back to sleep Sibella." Nova moaned, pulling her pillow over her head.

"Yes it is! It's actually almost lunchtime.. We slept in... a lot!" Sibel jumped off and put on her shoes.

"Lunchtime?!" Nova sat bolt upright. "NOT ANDROMEDA!" She screamed, and then shook it off. "Whoa, I don't know why I said that...um," She groaned. "I'm not wearing contacts today. Where'd you put my glasses?"

"Um...over there!" Sibel said, pointing to the glasses which were on a stack of messy papers. She was full of energy since last night, and couldn't help but be excited.

"Thanks." Nova reached for them, and glanced at the clock. "Oh my gosh, you weren't kidding! We gotta get downstairs and get lunch time in and oh my gosh there's so much paperwork to do..." All this Nova rambled while walking toward the bathroom, and shutting the door. Five minutes later, she appeared in her daytime clothes, hair neatly brushed, clean face with glasses placed neatly upon it.

Sibel stared in the mirror and examined her hair. It seemed not lighter than her dark brown, but different. She couldn't exactly tell how until she saw a picture of a cat-girl in her how to draw anime book. She ran over and looked at the picture then ran back and looked in the mirror. Since her transformation, her hair was changing and she realized how. "Nova, is my hair red?!"

"...Yeah, a little more than usual. Weird...must be the lighting." Nova said, examining her own 'do in the mirror.

"Okay, I'm going to ask John about it later... This is weird, remember, anyone asks, we say I'm dying my hair!" Sibel opened the door and waited for Nova.

"Sibel, wait!" Nova intercepted her sister at the door. "My neck!" She pulled her hair back to reveal the small marking that resembled a tiger. "We were gonna make it up before we went downstairs, remember?"

"Oh yeah!" Sibel closed the door and ran over. She took out her costume makeup and started doing experiments to match Nova's skin color. "I can still see it but that's only because I know it's there. It's all I can really do without and entire professional makeup artist team!"

Nova examined it in the mirror. "Well, it'll have to do. It's not like a scaly patch, so it shouldn't really be noticeable." She took a deep breath. "Alright, let's go!"

Sibel and Nova walked out together, both eager to see the guys. They talked about random things back and forth, and Sibel continued to examine her hair.

Once in the mess hall, Nova was surprised not to see Rodney and John waiting enthusiastically for them. It hadn't really occurred to her until just now, but she had noticed that they had been very...glad to see them/show them around before.

Sibel smiled widely as John caught her eyes. She walked over with Nova and got a tray full of food. They sat down opposite sides of the two men.

Nova smiled widely at Rodney, and began eating. After a few minutes, she said "Okay, it's bothering me now. NOT Andromeda, what is that constellation that starts with 'A N'?"

"Antioctrix," Rodney replied. Sibel looked at him with a "where the heck did you come up with that name?!" look.

"YES!" Nova nearly screamed. "It's been bothering me since five minutes after you said it! THANK YOU!" And she peacefully resumed eating.

John gave Sibel a questioning look.

Sibel shrugged and continued eating, "I'm not even going to ask how you came up with that name Rodney..." She stopped eating and examined her hair again seeing if John would say anything about it.

Nova glanced over at them, and shoved another bite of food in.

John did look a bit curious, but didn't actually say anything. Supposedly he figured he'd asked enough questions...either that, or he was so used to strange things happening by this point, he didn't dare ask.

Sibel decided to push away the thought and continue. After they all finished eating, they sat and talked for a while. John and Rodney argued about how one of their past adventures went, and Sibel and Nova commented to each other through their mind powers.

After another few minutes, Nova realized that nobody had eaten any dessert. She stood up. "I'm going to get some jello...anybody else?" She leaned on the table.

"YES!" Sibel excitedly yelled at her sister as she stood up as well.

"We're off to steal some jello!" Nova said. She threw a glance back at the table, before linking arms with Sibel and skipping off toward the dessert tower. Upon arriving, she grabbed a cup of blue jello, and said "So...you and Colonel Sheppard...serious or not?" She was smirking.

Sibel shrugged, "Well I kinda hope that it becomes that, if it isn't now. What about you and McKay? I know that you like him!" Sibel grabbed a cup of red jello and a spoon.

Nova flushed red. "Nothing's happened between us, if that's what you're implying." She said, and grabbed a spoon right behind her sister. "And what makes you think that I like him?" It was a stupid question, but Nova asked it anyway.

"I'm just saying, I see the way that you look at him and the way that he looks at you. And what do you mean by serious?" Sibel asked, the word popping back into her mind.

Nova 'hmmph'ed, and said "By serious, I mean are we looking at a potential future spouse?"

Sibel flushed just as Nova did. "No comment!" She ran back over to the table and sat down. Her skin matched the color of her jello.

Nova smiled and followed Sibel, then sat down across the table from her. "_I don't want a comment, just an answer_!" Nova teased telepathically, and took a bite of her jello. "Ooh, this is good." She said aloud, and took another huge bite.

"_Honestly, I'll simply say this: I would not mind..._" Sibel replied continuing to eat her jello, still blushing.

Nova smirked across the table at her sister, and then looked at John--who looked confused, and then resumed blissful silence in the solace of her gelatin dessert.

Sibel finished her jello and finally returned to her natural pale color. She smiled as she leaned back, then turned to her sister and bit her on the shoulder.

"Bad kitty!" Nova said, as she had the previous time, and smacked Sibel on the head.

"She's just playing." John said, and started petting Sibel on the head, giving Rodney some kind of secretive look. Rodney looked chagrined.

Sibel meowed then too out a piece of gum. She started chewing as she leaned on her sister. She closed her eyes and suddenly the image that had disappeared since the transformation came back to her thoughts. The eyes gleamed into hers with sadness and victory. Then the image disappeared but the heat returned. The savage pure emotions returned. She clenched her fists and his her head in her sister's shoulder trying to make it go away.

Nova flinched away. "Geez kitty, you're hitting me hard!" She pushed Sibel away, and then jumped. "_You're hot_."

Sibel's eyes widened, "I'm going to go take a run!" She bolted off and put her hair in a ponytail. She looked into a pocket mirror; her hair was even redder than before. She ran a couple laps, and the heat disappeared. She sat down and decided that tonight she would try to convince Rodney to ask her sister out. She wasn't sure where the thought came from, only that it was there.

"_Sibel? Sis, you okay_?" Nova asked from her seat in the mess hall. She didn't know exactly what was happening, but she got the feeling it was best not to follow her sister when she took off running like that.

"_Pfft, I'll be fine. I think that I'm going to talk to Rodney tonight... And my hair's REALLY red. More red than before_." Sibel replied as she put her jacket back on and started walking towards the sparring room. She saw Ronan and grabbed him by the arm nearly dragging him to the sparring room with her.

Ronon looked slightly confused at Sibel's actions, but he never passed up a good chance to spar, so he followed her with no complaint.

"_I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Either thing you said_." Nova replied.

"_Haha, it's good for you... Mostly._" Sibel chuckled then entered the sparring room, "_I'm going to fight Ronan for no apparent reason, want to watch?_"

Nova stood up from the table. "Hey, I'm gonna go watch Sibel and Ronon spar, wanna come?" Without waiting for a reply, she took off toward the nearest transporter.

Sibel did some breathing exercise to calm down. Simply because she knew that Ronan was extremely blunt, "Does my hair look red to you?" She asked, hoping to get an honest answer.

"Kinda." Ronon replied, and then cracked his neck a couple of times.

The sparring room doors slid open, and Nova walked inside wordlessly and sat down.

"Okay, well, because I know that you are an extremely honest person, can you tell me if it changes when we fight?" Sibel said as she got into fighting stance. "Nova, you want to take winner?"

Nova put her hand up. "No, I'm good, still healing from last time." She winked at Ronon, and leaned back against the wall.

"Sure." Ronon said, in reply to Sibel's question.

Sibel threw the first punch. The two of them went at it for about ten minutes before Sibel easily caught Ronan in an "ending the fight" hold. Sibel backed away and decided not to look at her hair and simply waited for someone to comment or not comment at all.

Nova was staring at them both, slack-jawed. "Ronon...does something look different about Sibel?"

Ronon turned around and made a face, then shrugged. He look a bit embarrassed about being beaten--AGAIN.

"Yes, Sibel, to answer your earlier question, it does look red. VERY...red."

Sibel remained calm as she took out her small pocket mirror (she carried it everywhere since the transformation). She saw that her hair was a very dark red. She sighed as she brushed it out of her face. At this point, she figured that it wouldn't be her normal dark brown ever again, even if she died it. "_Ah well, I always did want my hair to be red!_" Sibel thought.

"_This is true..."_ Nova communicated. "_But what are we gonna tell._.."

The doors slid open again.

"...Colonel Sheppard!"

"_I died my hair! Got it_?!" Sibel thought back and smiled as she saw him. She rubbed her arm, feeling the ache from one of Ronon's blows. "Hi!" Sibel said to him.

"Sibel died her hair!" Nova shouted.

Sibel turned towards her. "Yeah... Surprised?" Sibel asked as she ran her fingers through her newly acquired red hair.

Ronon looked at Sibel, at John, and then left. John raised his eyebrows. "It looks nice." He said, and for once Nova was thankful to goodness for men's ignorance of hair care products. Any woman would have known that Sibel's hair should be wet right now.

Sibel left her hair down. It felt cool against her fiery neck. She felt her tattoo and it felt like it was hot metal; it nearly burned her to the touch. She looked at Nova who was staring off into space, "Are you entertained, love?" She asked her sister.

"Very." Nova responded, and to John; "Where's Rodney?" She regretted her curiosity seeing her sister's expression.

"Left him downstairs." John replied.

Sibel chuckled, "I need to talk to him tonight actually," She looked back at John who seemed intrigued by her new look, "You going to go catch him?" She turned to her sister.

Nova shrugged. "Maybe. I left my scrunchie down in the mess hall anyway." She glared playfully, and made her way out of the room.

Sibel looked back at John, "What?!" She smiled seeing the look on his face.

He shrugged. "Nothin. So..." He looked around the room. "Nobody else here. You too worn, or you up to a re-match?"

Sibel laughed, "Am I ever?!" Sibel put her pocket mirror down and got ready for another fight.

Nova found Rodney sitting alone in the mess hall. Her missing rubber band sat right where she'd left it on the table, and she sat down across from the contemplative scientist. "Hey." She said, apparently startling him out of a trance.

Rodney jumped. "Oh, sorry, Nova. I was thinking of something," Rodney leaned back. The way that Nova was looking at him made him sweat. He felt like she was searching deep in his soul for the thing that he kept hidden.

"Soooo..." Nova leaned across the table. "My sister and John are up in the sparring room...sparring, I guess. I've got nothing to do, you?"

"Hm, well I'll probably go figure out some formula that'll make the puddle jumpers go into hyperspace, or do nothing at all... It's really boring here lately." Rodney replied trying to figure out a way to make conversation.

"I'm no scientist, but maybe you could tell me what you've got so far on the hypserspace thing?" Nova laughed. "If I start nodding and saying 'mmhmm' over and over again, I'm not bored, I just don't understand what you're saying."

Rodney chuckled and stood up, "Well, then. Shall we?" Rodney and Nova walked off to the jumper bay.

"Alright, OKAY I give!" John tried to free his arm of Sibel's grip, but soon found that that was not a wise choice, as pain shot through his shoulder and into his neck and back.

Sibel smiled and pushed him against the wall. She held him there and smirked, "Remember, I taught Tai Chi Quan. It's all about using your opponent's strength against them." She was dripping sweat now and the heat never left. She didn't feel a 'transformation' coming on but she felt like she was tapping into some of the power.

"Yes, very well used." John groaned. "Now please let go before your rip my arm off!"

Sibel smiled and let go of his arm. She instead switched to his shoulders and held him against the wall. She was having too much fun holding him down like this.

"So, all that past, and it's the size that's an issue?" Nova was looking at statistics on Rodney's computer, trying with all her might to understand what he was talking about. So far, she wasn't doing too shabby.

"Pretty much," Rodney said as he tweaked some more controls in the jumper, "What are you going to be doing tomorrow night?" Rodney finally got up the courage to ask her.

Nova was slightly taken-aback by the question. "Uh, same thing as everybody else, probably; nothing. Just...running around, worrying about an enemy attack, and...wondering what to do." She carefully watched his hand work, and was impressed by how well he seemed to be able to flip things around and carefully re place them.

"Well, I was uh...Wondering if you...Wanted to have dinner with me," Rodney continued to fiddle with the controls trying not to blush at the question or the answer that she would give.

Nova turned pink. Not that it would be unusual to have dinner with him...she'd been having dinner with him, John, and Sibel for the past couple of weeks. It was the fact that he'd asked, combined with the way he was asking, that made her blush. "You...dinner...want to take me to dinner?" She fumbled over her own words and wanted to kick herself.

"Yeah..." Rodney was blushing but since he was turned away, hopefully she couldn't see it. "_Nova, why do I fell a warm sensation coming from you? At the moment I'm holding Sheppard to the wall and kind of want to get back to business of torturing him_..." Sibel asked.

"_What? Um, you don't, it's not coming from me, it must be coming from somewhere else_." But Nova's face was hot. "Sure! Um, yes, d--dinner sounds great!" She pushed her glasses up and started fiddling with a lock of hair.

Rodney simply said "Great!" And finished fiddling with the controls. "I think that it's almost ready for a test run..."

"You gonna fly it out?" Nova asked, eager for the topic change to fully take place.

"Well, flying it would be dangerous because if it doesn't work we'd be ripped into a million pieces..." Rodney said, fearing it more than anything. "We'll have Sheppard control it using the chair."

"Yeah, good plan." Nova said, feeling a little foolish. Rodney had JUST earlier mentioned how a hyperdrive malfunction could be disastrous.

"Well," Rodney began as he turned around. "We better go get Colonel Sheppard!" He stepped out of the puddle jumper.

"He's probably upstairs getting his butt kicked." Nova joked. They made their way to the nearest transporter. "_We're coming up_!" Nova told Sibel telepathically.

"_Might want to close your eyes when you come in_," Sibel joked as she continued to hold Sheppard against the wall, her heat growing intense enough so that John could feel it as well.

"_Oh_?!" Nova smiled over at Rodney. The transporter doors opened, and they made their way down the hall toward the sparring room.

Sibel smiled playfully as she took a step back, "I'm having too much fun with you!

"Yeah, kinda noticed that." John said. It was playful enough, but he looked a bit tired of being held up against a wall. As he turned around, his and Sibel's faces came mere inches apart. He realized this, and backed against the wall again.

Sibel got as close as possible without touching him. "Are you scared of me at all?" Her playful cat side came over her and she felt like doing so many things.

"Usually, or at the moment?" John asked quietly, his pulse rising.

"Either or both." Sibel said, replacing her hands on his shoulders holding him against the wall firmly so he couldn't get away, but not hard enough to leave bruises.

John put his hands against the wall, mostly just to make sure it was still there. It was hard to tell, the way the room was spinning around. "It's...hard to say." He mumbled. He could feel her breath on his face, sending a tingle across his skin.

"Hey sis, I...aye aye..." Nova came to a dead stop mere inches through the sparring room doors.

Sibel smiled and licked her lips then backed off slowly. She turned to her sister who was staring at her, "_Told you you should have closed your eyes_," Sibel smiled and looked back at Sheppard who looked extremely shocked and embarrassed.

"Wow, having fun, are we?" Nova asked, leaning against the wall and smirking.

"Little too much." John didn't seem sincere. In fact, he almost seemed like he'd wished Nova and Rodney hadn't just then 'saved' him.

Sibel smiled then walked over to Nova. "You needed something?" She secretly took something out of John's pocket without him noticing, and twiddled it in her fingers. It was a little charm that he had found on the planet with the blood stone.

"Well, I was going to ask you something, but I forgot what it was." Nova said, truthfully, trying not to imagine what was happening before or what would have happened without her in the room.

Sibel smiled. "Oops, sorry," She replied, laughing. She twirled the charm around her fingers as Sheppard sat down on the floor, trying to get a grip of what just happened. She waited as she saw McKay look at her funny, "What?"

Nova smirked. "Well, I'm going to go upstairs and work on my novel. It hasn't had any looking-at in a few days, so...yeah." She headed for the door. "Have fun, don't get too carried away!" Then she glanced at Rodney. "Oh, don't do that test-run thing without me, kay?"

"I promise I won't! I think that John's a little busy right now anyway." Rodney left before John could comment.

"_How could I POSSIBLY get carried away with him?_" Sibel teased.

"_Oh, I'd rather not think about it_." Nova replied, and made her way up to their room.

John looked up at Sibel from the floor.

"Sorry. Did I get a little too carried away?" Sibel said since the mood had been ruined.

Sheppard stood up. "Uh--no..." He said, hesitantly. "I'm afraid my opinion is kind of biased though, I've met scary alien chicks and...I'd better end that there." He joked.

"Ah, I see. So what Rodney says is true about you being Captain Kirk..." Sibel joked remembering what Rodney had mumbled towards their first meeting, "Doesn't matter much, just means you have experience and go through girls quickly!"

He gave a half-hearted nod. "Yeah, he sees me like that." And cleared his throat. "That's just because he hasn't had a girlfriend in...well, I don't actually no how long it's been since he went out."

"Like I said, I don't care much." Sibel said, and continued to twirl the charm, waiting for Sheppard to notice.

John stretched his arms out, a bit sore from Sibel's...whatever you would call that. He patted one pocket, and then the other, and seemed to notice that something wasn't in place. He glanced at Sibel, her bizarrely changed hair color, and then down at her hands. He pointed. "Where'd you find that?"

"In your pocket! Where else?!" She laughed as she held it.

"I thought that looked familiar..." He said, squinting. "I found that the first time we took you through the 'gate."

Sibel smiled. "I couldn't resist. Pretty things distract me..." Sibel said, not referring to just the charm.

"Well you can keep it, if you like it." John said, gesturing. "I just thought...actually I picked it up because it made me think about you."

Sibel's expression changed and she blushed a little. Her expression changed again, "Well, if you want it back...Or I could always give you something else..." a maniac smirk ran across Sibel's face.

"Well, that'd depend on what you have in mind." John replied, cocking his head to the side.

A burst of heat ran over Sibel's body as she stepped forward. She gently put her hands on Sheppard's head then made him tilt it. She then bit his neck, hard enough to leave a mark for at least a week, but not hard enough to make it painful.

John jumped, a little surprised, not sure whether he loved it or hated it. "Well...that's new." He murmured.

Sibel stopped biting and wiped off her mouth with her arm. She bit her lip at John's indescribable expression, "See? And you can't get rid of it."

He rubbed the spot a little bit, and said "No, I don't suppose I can." He smiled. "Not that that's going to be any kind of problem."

Sibel smiled, "Dang it... I'm hungry now... I'm going to go get some food. If it becomes a problem of course, I can cover it up with makeup," Sibel said knowing the problem of trying to hide hickeys...

"Oh, mind if I join you?" Sheppard asked, uncrossing his legs and stepping toward her.

"Why not?" She answered, as she put her jacket back on and she opened the sparring room door. "_Nova, I can't entirely believe what I just did...I bit John.._" Sibel thought as they walked up towards the mess hall.

"_Bit him? OH MY GOSH IS HE DEAD_?!" Nova responded. She was obviously caught in another world, and a little foggy.

"_No...But I left a REALLY bad mark..._" Sibel looked at the mark on John's neck again.

A giggle passed through their line of communication. "_Well, now he'll always remember you_."

"_That is the entire reason that I gave it to him_..." Sibel replied as they walked in. She saw Nova sitting at the table, and Nova nearly died seeing the mark on John's neck.

Nova glanced up from her notebook and smiled, and then went back to scribbling. She was a few chapters and some spell/grammar-checks away from being finished. And she was excited.

Sibel rushed over. "How are you doing on the book?! I can't wait till you're finished!"

Nova laughed. "I've got about twenty pages left, give or take. But I haven't checked everything, then I'll type it up...and send it to my publisher!" She sighed contently. "He's been asking me when I'll be finished."

"Blah! Hate it when people rush me to do anything." Sibel said as she sat beside her sister and looked over her shoulder. John sat down on the opposite side of the table.

"Yeah, well...that's books for ya." Nova said, and set her pen down and flipped her notebook shut. "Gah, I've got writer's block! Ever since I hurt my ankle, I've been all off-in-space." She sighed.

"Awe," Sibel patted her sister's head. "You'll make it go away! You'll chase it away with a pitchfork!"

"What happened to your neck?!" Rodney asked, approaching and examining the mark on Sheppard.

John glanced sideways at Sibel. "Uh...I caught the skin in a zipper." He said. Nova looked at the floor and tried not to laugh.

Sibel buried her head in Nova's shoulder and contained her giggling as much as possible. Rodney saw the strained looks on the two girls faces, and decided not to ask any more questions about odd marks on John.


	14. Chapter 14

Sibel and Nova were geared up and ready to visit a new village. They walked through the 'gate, and started following the coordinates. "Oh wow, it looks like France!" Sibel exclaimed as she looked at the green plains.

"Really? I was thinking Scotland." Nova replied. John stared at them both funny, as the gate shut down behind them.

A few minutes later, they entered the village. It was old fashioned like Scotland, with French houses mixed. "We both win..." Sibel whispered to her sister as she stared at all of the pompously dressed people. "Kind of..."

Nova giggled, and glanced at her shoes.

John put his hands together. "Ookay, Rodney? Let's go see if we can't find out who's in charge around here, get a little intel, see if we can make a trade, and head back home."

Sibel saw some of the guys staring at the two girls and she became hominophobic very quickly once again. She stepped back and stood beside John who was asking one of the villagers a question.

Nova tried not to laugh at her sister's bizarre fear of men, and stood on her toes, waiting for something to do. A group of what appeared teenaged girls were making their way past. "Teeny-boppers at two o'clock." Nova mumbled to her sister, gesturing toward her 2:00.

Sibel stood firm making sure to hold her ground against the teenagers. She whispered to her sister. "We haven't changed much from when we were teenagers, huh?" She saw the girls smile, wink, giggle, and wave at John flirtatiously. "_I'm going to have a lot on my hands with this one, aren't I_?" Sibel thought to herself.

"No, we haven't really." Nova replied, smiling, remembering her adolescent years. They weren't bad memories at all, honestly.

The group got closer, and whispering erupted, until one of the girls was shoved from the group. She smiled in a happy, care-free manner, and said "Hello, new people!" She had a bizarre accent...it almost sounded Hungarian, but not quite.

Sibel's face changed into an "o-m-g what the heck are you" look as she stared at the girl. She stepped next to her sister as the girl parted the group in half. Sibel glared at the girl from behind and gripped her gun restraining from shooting.

Nova put a hand on her sister's arm. "Go to your happy place, Sibel." She whispered.

The girl looked up at John, blond curls bouncing about her face and shoulders. "My friends said I should tell you that..." She looked at the ground, biting her lip. Oh yeah, that was definitely flirting.

John cocked his head. "That...?"

"She thinks your cute!" One of the other girls called, and giggling erupted. Nova tightened her grip on Sibel's arm.

Sibel's squinted for a moment then stopped. She breathed, "Are you sure that I'm only allowed to fire on your command?" she asked John with an entirely serious look on her face.

John squinted at Sibel, like he wasn't entirely sure what she was asking. "Unless your life is in danger or I'm not here, yes..."

"Sibel, let's go check out the landscape." Nova said, quietly. The look on _her_ face implied that it wasn't a suggestion.

Sibel followed her sister and walked by the girls. They gave her the look that the cheerleaders in high school always gave her. She glared, then quickly bit the air. She continued walking. "I wouldn't have missed either..."

"Yeah, well, I don't think you make very fast friends shooting the local preps." Nova muttered. "Look, there's a nice, big, tree groove over there, let's go find a happy place."

"Happy... right!" Sibel started jogging towards the trees, _longing_ to get away from the village. Her and Nova's high school years were fun, but there were always issues and drama that Sibel stayed away from.

Nova started climbing a tree, feeling energized. "Gosh, been cooped up so long, I almost forgot what a blue sky looks like!" She laughed and started shaking the higher branches in the tree. "Come on up here Sibel, it's...high...and refreshing!"

Sibel climbed up the tree and sat next to Nova. They could see everything from the village to a dark forest far away. "Wow..." She twiddled with her red hair and looked at the horizon. "What do you want to do?"

"Run, jump, climb, rip things to shreds," Nova said, pulling a small branch off. "Whoa," She said. "I was just standing on that." She stared at the branch for a long moment, and then threw it toward the forest.

Sibel saw the stick go farther than it should have with her and her sister's amount of strength. "Um... Okay... Race you towards that forest!" Sibel said as she jumped out of the tree and started running.

Nova looked down, shocked, and began climbing out of the tree. After a moment, she'd caught up with Sibel...which was unusual when you consider the fact that Sibel was a runner, and Nova was a writer. Which meant that Sibel should have been at least a one-minute run ahead, and Nova should not have been able to catch up.

The two ran faster than they ever could towards the forest. It all seemed like a blur, because it was at that speed. Neither of the two girls realized it though. They stopped when they reached the forest. "I don't feel tired at all!" Sibel said, surprised that she wasn't even out of breath.

"Me either," Nova replied. "Listen," She breathed loudly. "No wheezing. I should have fainted from an asthma attack running that fast that far." She glanced back at the tree where they'd come from; it was a tiny speck in the distance. She looked back at Sibel, warily.

"This is.... odd, but soooo cool!" Sibel said as she realized what they had done, "What do you want to do to test it?"

"Um...pull a piece of bark off of that tree!" Nova said, pointing to a huge oak a few feet away.

Sibel blinked, "You or me first?" She and her sister walked over to the enormous tree.

Nova looked the tree over. "You first."

"Okay," Sibel warily walked up to the tree. She found an area and gripped. She pulled hard enough to rip it off a little, and a huge chunk about 4 feet wide came off. Sibel dropped it and jumped back. "That was weird...."

"Really weird!" Nova watched a bunch of tiny black ants scuttle away from the big bare patch, and then cautiously approached the spot. She leaned closer, and squinted. "Sibel, let me see your hands."

Sibel decided not to look, but held her hands out to Nova, turning her head back toward the village.

Nova looked between her sister's hands and the tree, before saying "Um, you don't have anything under your fingernails. But there's six huge marks here on the tree. They're deep, too."

Sibel looked and shook her hands, "Yeah, this is creepy... I think of the next idea!" and then looked up at the tree. "Climb the oak as fast as you can!"

Nova looked up. "Um, it's just a trunk for several feet! That low branch right there has got to be at least 7 feet up!"

"Don't think about it! Just do it! Close your eyes and jump!" Sibel said trying to push her sister to stop thinking logically.

Nova looked at Sibel like she was crazy, then turned to the tree, closed her eyes, and jumped as high as she could. When she opened her eyes the next moment, she was sitting on that 'lowest branch'. She stared down at the ground in horror.

Sibel looked surprised but her eyes gleamed with curiosity. She looked up and said "What are you thinking at this moment?"

"Well, to be completely honest, I'm thinking 'holy heck I just jumped seven feet up in the air how do I get down?'" Nova said, gripping the trunk of the tree with both hands. "You?"

"I'm thinking about trying to jump up there with you!" Sibel said, and turned around and walked a couple feet back. She turned back around, ran towards the tree and jumped up grabbing a branch about a foot higher than Nova's head. She turned around and sat down on the branch with Nova and sat there staring at the ground.

"Sibel, this is really weird." Nova said, waving away some gnats that had decided to check out the action. "You just...jumped..." She looked up, and gasped. "Sibel, your eyes!"

"What?!" Sibel asked as she took out the pocket mirror. She opened it and looked at her eyes, they were glowing and golden, "What the?!" she dropped the mirror and it landed on the ground, "Okay, I keep trying to tell myself that that whole transformation thing was a nightmare but now..."

"Sibel, last time that happened, you came down with a bad fever." Nova was somehow up on the same branch as Sibel now. She put a hand to her sister's forehead. "You don't even feel warm."

"Maybe.. It's because, we're CHOOSING to do this..." Sibel said coming up with the only explanation she could think of. "Nova, Sibel?" Sibel fell out of the tree scared by the radio. She landed on her hands and feet and looked up at Nova.

Nova looked a little bit taken-aback, but she hadn't jumped out of the tree. She just wondered how Sibel did it. "Um, yes? Wait..." She grabbed her radio from her tact. vest "Yes?"

"You guys disappeared, and we were just wondering what your status was." Sibel heard John say as she looked down at the ground again. She sat on her butt and backed up against the tree.

"Oh, we're--we're fine." Nova said, climbing further up the tree, using one hand and her feet. "Just taking a walk. How you guys doing over there?" She slipped, and fell...more like slid...down the tree, and landed next to Sibel with a muffled _thump_.

Sibel looked at her sister as John asked, "What was that?!" Sibel grabbed the radio, "Nova tripped, what else?!"

"McKay and I found the local doctor, he's got some interesting stuff. We're gonna stick around a while, so take your time, but get back here before dark." John replied. Nova proceeded to feel her body and poke herself, looking for broken bones or bruises.

"Yes sir!" Sibel said as she handed the radio back to her sister, "What should we do?"

Nova stuck the radio back in her vest. "We should see what we can lift." She replied. "I feel like Paul Bunyan, and they ain't NOBODY HERE TO TELL ME DIFFERENT!" She jumped up off the ground.

Sibel stared then proceeded to follow her sister, "Okay, we can run fast, jump high, we have lots of endurance... And my eyes turned gold. Next we're going to see what things we can lift. Makes sense to me!" She followed her sister over to some dead trees. "You get to start..."

"No problem!" Nova was feeling a little more confident, having survived a lengthy fall without so much as a scratch. She lifted up one end of a big, dead juniper; it came right up. She gaped. "Sibel, get the other end, let's see how far we can throw it!"

"OKAY!" Sibel was getting excited seeing their new powers at work. She ran over and grabbed the other end. "Ready when you are!"

"On three's count! One...two..." They swung back and forth as Nova counted. "Three!"

They let go of the tree and it flew over the wide plane. It stopped a few meters short of the village. Sibel breathed in and out as she looked at her sister in shock, "Holy... crap..."

Nova's jaw dropped. "Okay, I know we're impressively strong and fast, but...that..."

"That's... crazy..." Sibel said then heard the radio, "Sibel! Nova! What happened?!" she heard Rodney say.

"Uhm," Nova grabbed for her radio, and then pressed the talk button. "Nothing! Nothing happened, why? The wind's blowing kind of hard up here, y'know, knocking some stuff over." The air was, in fact, dead still.

"We saw a broken tree fall out of the sky a few meters away from the village." John replied. "I think that you two should get back here before something else happens."

"Uh, tree falling out of the sky? Really? That's new." Nova said over the radio. "Um, we'll be back in a few minutes. There's a...um...bug! A bug that I'm looking at. And...see you in a few!"

"Alright, but hurry up, the sun's starting to set." John said. Nova put the radio back, and stared at Sibel.

Sibel stared back, happy as a clam. "This is too cool!" Sibel quickly jumped onto a stump and looked at her sister, "You think that we're more powerful in full form?!"

"Good question!" Nova replied. "How do we tell?"

"Well... I would think that it would be safer to try and change in the dark, but John wants us to get back there before then... If only something could happen where we could stay the night!" Sibel joked thinking about how 'too easy' that would be.

"Hmm...something..." Nova looked around. "Okay, I've got nothing. How do you suggest? NO WAIT! There should be dark in the forest!" She grabbed her sister's wrist. "Let's go!"

"Um I don't think that we have time... Actually we do! It only took us a few moments to run here and back, if we ran back now it would be too soon and they'd get suspicious!" Sibel said as her sister and her ran towards the black forest. It was only dark, it wasn't the darkness that they had felt in the other forest.

Nova deeply inhaled, the scent of wet leaves and mud filling her nostrils. "Alright...what do we do?" She asked.

"Um.. I don't know... Think?" Sibel said as she removed her vest and her jacket, "Dang! It's cold out here... I don't want to rip anything though..." She looked around and sat on a stump as she looked at her sister for ideas.

Nova put her tactical vest and jacket on the ground, and removed her fingerless gloves. "Man, I hate this cold. It's the real reason I could never live in Scotland." She mumbled. "Alright, um..." She closed her eyes. "I'm going to think of all of the things I felt before I changed last time." She said.

"Okay.. I'll just think of those stupid preps while thinking about how Sheppard kissed me..." Sibel said thinking about the heat that she had felt at those moments.

Nova let her thoughts fly. Emotions welled up in her mind, anger, happiness, fear..."Gah, I just can't!" She said, opening her eyes and slumping down onto a nearby log.

"Neither can I.. It's really hard at the moment..." Sibel said leaning back on the stump, "We might as well just head back and try again another time!" Sibel put her jacket back on and grabbed her vest.

"But let's walk back." Nova said. "I want to talk. And think." As they headed back toward the village, Nova started cogitating their situation aloud. "Maybe we were concentrating on the wrong thing."

"Yeah, but what are we supposed to concentrate on?" Sibel asked. "There are lots of things that could trigger a zoanthropic transformation..."

Nova shook her head and sighed. "I don't know. But you consult your book when we get back, I'll dig up what I can from my imagination, and maybe even a few entomology books, and we'll see what we can come up with." They arrived in the village and met up with the rest of the team.

Sibel saw the group of preps examining the log and thought, "Too bad it didn't land on them, huh?" She smiled at John as she took her place at his side again. He was staring at the log, and looked extremely confused.

"That wasn't there when we left." Nova said, casually, trying not to sound suspicious.

"We noticed." John said, still staring.

"Where do you think it came from?" Sibel asked, still glaring at the preps.

"The _sky_." Rodney said, sarcastically.

"That's useful." Nova muttered. She glanced up; the light was growing dim, and dinner time would be there shortly. "I don't know about any of you," Nova said, flipping her hair out of her face. "But my blood sugar's dropping, I'm cold, and my feet are killing me."

Sibel continued to glare and John whispered "You look like you're going to eat them alive!"

"I probably will when I get the chance..." Sibel muttered as she grabbed Nova by the arm and started walking back towards the gate.

"When you get the chance...right." John mumbled, and followed. Rodney soon caught up as well, and they dialed Atlantis and were back within minutes.

Sibel rushed Nova towards the mess hall and they sat down to eat. Sibel wanted to go and see what else she could do but chose to hold it in for the moment, "_I want to test our 'powers' again..._" Sibel thought to her sister.

"_As do I_." Nova replied, eating as fast as she could without choking.

Sibel smiled as John sat down. She got the feeling that he knew that they weren't telling him something and tried not to make it noticeable, "_I think that he's suspicious, Nova_.."

"_I know he's suspicious. He has that 'suspicious male' look on him. Can't you see it?_" Rodney sat down as well, but seemed more focused on eating than on digging into the mind of a female. Nova thought that wise.

Sibel felt extremely guilty about not telling John everything yet. She wanted to more than the world at this moment, but even she didn't know the full extent of what was happening. "_Maybe it's all only temporary_!" she thought to her sister, kind of hoping such.

"_Well, if there's any scientific implications, it'll last as long as the...whatever it gave us...is in our systems. Sort of like a drug, or a poison._" Nova tried to think of a good example. "_Like a bee sting, or something._"

"_What if it permanently changed our DNA_?!" Sibel said looking at her sister. The guys watched as the two exchanged glances and expressions like they were communicating silently through them.

"_I hope not_!" Nova replied. "_I mean, this is really cool and every thing, but let's face it; I DON'T WANT TO BE A WERE-PERSON FOREVER!_"

"_Yeah, I know what you mean_..." Sibel said as she looked at John who wouldn't stop staring at her. She turned away and looked out the window towards the sea.

Nova yawned, and looked at her watch. "Wow, it's getting late." She murmured, and set her napkin on the table. "I think I'm gonna hit the hay." She smiled at John and Rodney, and then nodded toward Sibel. "Good night!"

Sibel sat there not sure what to do. She watched her sister leave and decided to sit there... Just sit there. She watched Rodney continue eating and was intrigued by the way he scarfed his food. She could feel John's gaze burning into her head and it nearly made her scream. She tried to concentrate on Rodney eating and NOT look at John.

John studied Sibel. Maybe he was looking for an answer, maybe he was trying to figure out what she was keeping secret. Either way, he didn't realize that she was uncomfortable under his gaze.

Sibel decided that she couldn't handle it anymore, and stood up. "I'm gonna go for a walk, I'll see you two later!" She started walking out of the mess hall and towards the jumper bay.

John watched Sibel leave, then turned to Rodney, who seemed a bit puzzled at John's new transfixion.

"Um... What's up?" Rodney asked confused and bewildered by John's expression.

John shook his head. "I dunno." He said. "Anyway, how we doing on the hyperdrive for the jumpers? Ready to test?"

"Yup! We'll need you for the chair tomorrow... Mostly because I have no idea what would happen if I tried," Rodney replied still worried about John."Are you sure you have nothing to talk about? I mean, I'm always here, you know..."

"I said I'm fine Rodney, and I'm fine!" John insisted. "So, tomorrow we'll get that sucker going, and...got anything else planned?"

"_Besides trying to get you to tell me what's up?_" Rodney thought to himself, "Not really... Nova and I rescheduled our date for tomorrow night though since we had to go on a mission tonight!"

John leaned across the table; this was news to him. "You rescheduled your...what?"

Rodney flushed pink, "Um...Well, I asked Nova...To dinner," Rodney stared down at his food.

John smirked. "Well, whaddya know. Bones having dinner with a pretty girl." He leaned back in his chair and folded his hands behind his head.

"I know, I know! I just couldn't keep it contained any longer...." Rodney said as he lost the rest of his appetite.

John raised his eyebrows. "That's not a bad thing." He said. "You finally stepped up and did it. So...where you planning on 'hanging out'?"

"Well, we'll have a nice dinner, whatever that is here, and probably watch a movie or something... I guess." Rodney replied, as he leaned back, unsure of what to do on the date yet.

"Think she'll wear a nice dress?" John teased, referring to both sisters' tomboyish natures.

"I don't know. I think she looks good in anything she wears..." Rodney said blushing a little.

John glanced at his own watch. "Well, that's a common sentiment around here." He thought of the way Sibel looked after a big sparring match, and felt his face go hot.

"You okay? You're kinda... red." Rodney said, staring at John.

The colonel cleared his throat. "Fine. I'm gonna...go...take a shower and go to bed."

"Well, remember, if you want to talk... I mean I know that I'm not the one to talk to about relationships but I could try and help!" Rodney said as he stood up to go put his tray away, "Nova's a wonderful girl and so is her sister. We have to help each other keep them in our lives..." Rodney walked away.

Walking out of the mess hall, McKay's words struck John as a little out-of-the-ordinary-even-for-Rodney. He didn't call people 'wonderful', usually only computers. Either way, he shook it off and headed upstairs. He was sure he was acting even more peculiar than that, and he just wanted a hot shower and some sleep. Maybe then he could figure everything out.


	15. Chapter 15

The next day, Rodney was walking toward Nova and Sibel's room, since he had nothing else to do. He started thinking about different formulas and then about his and Nova's date that night. He had tried to plan it out before he went to bed, but failed. He couldn't think straight and was extremely nervous. He walked past John's room just as John walked out. "Sheppard! You heading somewhere?"

"I was gonna go find Sibel, actually." He replied. "I saw her and Nova at breakfast, but they came back upstairs and I haven't seen them since."

"Oh well, I was heading over towards their quarters right now. I need some advice about tonight..." Rodney said, as the two started walking.

"I'm not sure anything I say will help you." John said. He smirked. "Just don't be a butt head."

"Oh yeah," Rodney stopped. "That's helpful!" The two continued and came to the door. They didn't hear a sound from the inside and they buzzed the buzzer... thing...

Still no response. "You don't think they're sleeping?" John asked, squinting. That didn't sound very characteristic of either of them. Sleep, that is.

"You worried too?" Rodney asked afraid to open the door if both of them didn't agree.

"Kinda." John replied. They both stared at the door for a minute. Sheppard buzzed once more, and when nobody answered, he said "Alright, let's go in."

"Okay," Rodney said as they opened the door. The two men stood there staring at the two girls for a moment. The girls were dancing around the room in animal costumes, singing "Holding out for a hero". Sibel was in a lion costume and Nova was in a lamb outfit, oh the irony....

Nova was the first one to notice the men at the door. She froze where she was, in the middle of a word, mouth hanging open. She poked Sibel a couple of times, as the background music continued to play.

Sibel looked at her sister and saw the men outside the door. Everyone stood there lifeless for a moment with the music playing in the background. It was like silence, but without silence.

"Wow..." Nova finally said. "This...is unbelievably embarrassing." She walked over to the door. "I'm going to talk to my sister a moment." She waved her hand over the control panel, and the doors slid shut.

Sibel continued to stand there, lifeless, "That was um.... interesting...."

Nova fell face-flat on the floor. "Am I dead yet?" She asked, and then started taking her gloves and hat off. "Wow, that was...so...wrong..."

"Seriously! It's okay though.. I'm sure they don't really think of us differently.... maybe," Sibel slapped her head with the humongous glove on her hand. She sat down next to Nova on the floor. "Yeah... What should we do?"

"Um, we should change our clothes, and...and...deny everything! Hide the karaoke machine!" Nova said, grabbing for a t-shirt and her jeans.

Sibel hid the karaoke machine and got her normal clothes back on, "Just tell me when you're ready!" Sibel said standing by the door combing her hair with her fingers.

Nova came back out of the bathroom with a brown t-shirt and her blue jeans on, brushing her hair furiously.

Sibel breathed in and out as calmly as possible, "Okay, ready?"

Nova put down the hairbrush and buried her face in her hands. "As I'll ever be." She groaned.

Sibel opened the door to reveal the guys staring at each other with blank faces. They both jumped back when the door opened. The four of them stared at each other silently. Rodney made the first move. "We haven't seen you guys since breakfast so we decided to come check on you..."

Nova turned red.

"We thought maybe you weren't alright..." John added.

"It's...fine..." Nova said. She glanced at Sibel, then back at Rodney.

"Kind of..." Sibel added to her sister's sentence. "You never EVER saw any of that, understand?" Sibel kind of made it a threat.

"Clear." John said, trying to erase the image from his mind. He had to admit, it had been more than amusing. Nova didn't say anything else, but just stood there, staring.

The girls walked out of their room and closed the door "So.. Um... What have you two been up to?" Sibel still felt the burn of John's gaze yesterday and still kind of hurt because of it. She felt more guilty than before.

"Nothing...I was gonna come find you," John motion toward Sibel. "And then find Rodney, and we were going to test the Puddle Jumper's new hyperdrive system."

Nova perked up. "Oh? Sweet!"

Sibel stared down at the ground as the group talked. She tried to ignore everything and sort her own thoughts out. She knew that she was going to tell him, she just wasn't sure when. She snapped out of the trance when she heard Rodney exclaim to the party. "Yeah! It might be dangerous though, so we HAVE to be careful...." He imagined being ripped into a million tiny pieces.

"Well, that's why we're watching from a computer monitor, right?" Nova asked. She had her clipboard back, and was jotting things down as they came at her. John wanted to say something, but wasn't quite sure what.

"Yes," Rodney said, as they entered the chair room. "Alright, Sheppard, we will see you in a few moments!"

"Thanks." John said, taking his seat smoothly. It looked so natural for him, Nova thought, as she followed Rodney back out of the room.

Sibel stood there for a moment then followed her sister. "_Nova I feel extremely odd right now.._." She thought as she felt John stare at her as she left the room.

"_Why_?" Nova felt her sister's tension, and she didn't like it much. She glanced at Rodney, who was tapping at keys on a laptop, wearing that 'concentrating scientist' expression.

"_I can't get the way that John looked at me out my head... It burned, and it still burns... When am I supposed to tell him_?!" Sibel replied nearly running into the door.

"_When you feel like you can trust him not to go all postal on you!_" Nova replied, trying to figure out what Rodney was doing on the computer.

"_I can trust him now... But I'm scared that he won't think of me the same way..._" Sibel tried to sort it out as logically as possible.

"Ready when you are, Sheppard!" Rodney said over the intercom.

Nova continued looking back and forth between McKay and the computer screen, as live feed from the inside of the jumper came up. "_Maybe we should wait...like I said, it could just be temporary. It might flush out of our systems after a couple of months._"

"_I can't hide this from him, Nova! It's killing me!_" Sibel replied, as she watched the jumper from a balcony.

Nova sighed and bit her lip. "_I'm not you, Sibel, I can't tell you what to think or feel. If you feel like you should tell him now, then you should! God, this is going to sound so Disney...but go with what feels right._"

"_Okay... I will wait one week, then after that I will tell him..._" Sibel made the promise to herself, and to God. She watched as the puddle jumper went high into the air, then disappeared into a flash of green light.

Nova squealed, standing behind Rodney watching the screen. "It hasn't vaporized yet!" She exclaimed, smiling huge.

Sibel smiled as she watched. She let go of the worries for now and decided to run down the the chair room to let John know that everything was going fine so far. She was still terrified but she made the promise and she wouldn't worry about it until that moment.

John was leaned back in the chair, eyes closed and muscles tense. He didn't even hear Sibel enter the room.

"Sheppard, you can try bringing it back now! Nothing went wrong!" Rodney exclaimed over the intercom.

"Got it!" The colonel called back. Nova watched intently as the jumper came down out of hyperspace, turned around, and jumped back into another window.

"You know, it's really amazing when you can actually see it." She said, happily. "I traveled three weeks in hypserspace, but I never got to see any of this. I was in the passenger area."

"Yeah, it really is insanely cool!" Rodney said as he started walking with Nova to see how Sheppard was doing. Sibel waited by the door alone in the room with Sheppard who was concentrating on bringing the puddle jumper back into the bay safely.

In a few moments, a green flash of light appeared above the open bay doors, and the jumper appeared, then lowered itself into the bay and landed. Nova and Rodney arrived in the chair room, both looking more than excited.

Sibel smiled as the chair sat back up and John stopped concentrating. Before she got the chance to say something, Rodney ran over, "It worked perfectly, John! I can't believe that it worked! It's been so long since I started working out the formulas and stuff!"

Sheppard smiled. "Good job, McKay!" He stood up and gave Rodney a pat on the shoulder.

Sibel continued to lean on the wall as she saw Nova give McKay a hug, "_When is your two's date tonight?" _Sibel teased._ "And are you going to wear a dress?_"

Nova playfully glared at her sister. "_It's in a few hours, and I MIGHT wear a CASUAL dress._"

Sibel giggled as she watched the three congratulate each other. Then she realized that John and her might hang out alone again while Rodney and Nova were on their date. She walked over and stood behind Nova, trying to be as unnoticeable as possible. Even though her hair made that impossible..

Nova smiled back at her sister, and then bounced on her toes. "So...lots of excitement...it's afternoon...LUNCH! That sounds good, wouldn't you say?"

"Not really..." Sibel groaned quietly.

"You feeling alright?" Sheppard asked.

"Not hungry sis?" Nova shrugged and sat down on the edge of the chair, doodling on her clipboard.

Sibel continued to hide behind her sister, "Not really..." Sibel thought realizing that she really wasn't hungry at all.

"Eh, I'm only a little hungry, we don't have to eat yet," Nova agreed, glancing over at McKay for approval. She constantly worried about one of them having a meltdown, but tried hard not to show it.

"Surprisingly, I'm not that hungry either... I'm always hungry," McKay pondered the odd feeling of not being hungry.

"Hmm, guess being relaxed has it's benefits." Nova said, smiling. She continued to doodle on her clipboard, but snatched it against her chest when Sheppard tried to peek.

"_What are you drawing?_!" Sibel asked as she saw the sneaky reaction.

"_Nothing of consequence._" Nova replied, smirking. She moved the paper to the back of her clipboard, and cleared her throat, looking for something to do to draw attention away from her handiwork.

"_Pffft, fine!_" Sibel replied. She stood up then sat right down on her sister.

"Oomph!" Nova released a bunch of air when Sibel tried to squish her, and then started playing with her sister's hair with one hand. She liked the new color, it brought out Sibel's features and eyes quite well, she thought.

Sibel was surprised at her sister's reaction but didn't mind. She continued to not look at John for the moment, still trying to make the guilt of waiting to tell him go away. "What are we gonna do until..." Sibel looked at Rodney then whispered, "Your date!"

Rodney jumped back what looked like ten feet, and Sibel could feel Nova jump underneath her too.

"We're going to...steal your cookies." Nova whispered, digging in Sibel's jacket pocket until she felt a little plastic wrapper. "HA! I KNEW IT!"

"WHAT?! NO!" Sibel jumped up and tackled her sister to the ground, "YOU WILL NOT TAKE MAH COOKIES AGAIN YOU EVIL COOKIE STEALER!" She screamed as she wrestled with her sister on the ground.

Nova laughed like a bad guy from an old film, and rolled over to guard the cookies, and an unexpected opponent joined in as John tackled both of them and tried to wrestle Sibel away, telling Nova to run with the 'goods'.

"You're supposed to be on my side!" Sibel said to John, as she tried to wrestle out of his grip. She remembered her own strength and simply decided to give up; she didn't want to accidentally hurt John. She knew she couldn't hurt Nova though, she fell from a tree and she didn't get hurt.

Nova stood up, giggling, and held up the wrinkled-but-not-damaged package. "VICTORY!" She shouted, trying to ignore the funny look that Rodney was giving them. John let go of Sibel and stood up, and then extended a hand to her.

Sibel accepted the hand and stood up. She looked at her sister, "Yes... But you didn't know that I had See's candies in my other pocket!" Sibel then ran out of the room towards the mess hall.

Nova's jaw dropped, but didn't wipe her smile away. "You VILLIAN!" She shouted. "COME BACK!" She took off after Sibel.

Sibel burst into the mess hall and sat down at the table quickly hiding her chocolate.... in her mouth.

Nova came through the doorway and glanced around, before locating Sibel at her table. She ran toward her, and then slid down the bench next to her, laughing. She tossed the cookies onto the table in front of her sister.

"Hah! We have too much fun...The fact that Sheppard helped aid in our stupidity was odd though!" Sibel laughed as she put the cookies back into her pocket.

"I didn't think so." Nova replied, smiling. "He seemed like a fun guy, we just didn't know him very well at first. But now," She leaned toward Sibel until she was practically pushing her over. "He's in luuuurve wif you." She blinked her almond-shaped green eyes several times, and then started giggling again.

Sibel smiled. "Yeah but who knows what he will be after I tell him about you know what!" At that moment Sheppard sneaked into the seat next to Sibel and she didn't notice. She was too busy trying to push Nova's head away, which was still staring, from hers.

John watched them play like little kids for a minute, and then touched the back of Sibel's neck and made a hissing/rattling sound.

Sibel jumped since the scar on her neck was sensitive and she nearly screamed in fright. She turned around and saw John, "O-m-g... You scared me..."

He smiled sheepishly, but not exactly apologetically. "Sorry."

"Actually," Nova's mind seemed to have traveled to another galaxy. "I think I'll save my appetite. Oh! I know what to do! I can write!" Her sudden disappearance of writer's block seemed peculiar and, for some reason, demanding. More like a need to get her thoughts onto paper, than just the ability once more to write.

Sibel watched as her sister scribbled with incredible speed, "You know, that wasn't nice.." She said shocked as she watched her sister even though she was referring to Sheppard. "I might have turned around and bit your hand off!"

"I doubt that." John replied, taking Sibel's hand under the table. Nova glanced up at the ceiling, trying to remember a word, and then back down at her paper and started writing again.

Sibel blushed and leaned back against her chair. "You do the same thing I do when I can't remember a word!" she blurted out when she saw her sister do that.

"Duh!" Nova said, looking at the wall and then over at Sibel. She smiled. "Sisters? You knew I did that." She glanced back down at her paper, and stared at it for a moment. She tried to write again, but her pen seemed dead. "Gah, I knew that was gonna happen." She growled, and then left for her and Sibel's quarters for a new writing device, and maybe even a few minutes alone.

Sibel watched as her sister left. "Her and McKay would be a perfect couple... She balances his ego out."

"How so?" John asked. He failed to see how a _mouse_ could balance the arrogant scientist's ego out.

"Well, she's TOO modest most of the time. Sometimes when someone is too modest and someone with an ego comes into their life, they will turn their ego onto the modest one instead, bragging about them," Sibel tried to figure out a way to explain it. "And... she thinks that his ego is cute!"

Sheppard restrained from laughing. "I don't understand some women." He said, shaking his head. "Seems a bit unfair, though."

"Well, women don't understand guys either!" Sibel finally turned and looked him in the face. "Trust me, I would give anything to read your thoughts..."

"Oh believe me, you don't want to know what I'm thinking." John replied, sincerely, staring intensely at Sibel's blue eyes.

"Trust me, I do!" Sibel stood up forgetting that her hand was still attached to Sheppard's. She stopped for a moment and looked down at their hands. She then pulled Sheppard out of his seat and started walking. She didn't know where, she was just going to walk.

He followed with no question. A kind of understanding had seemed to pass right through their touch at that moment. It wasn't really an explainable thing, it was just...there. Even as the two wandered aimlessly, silently, it could be felt thickly in the air.

"What do you think is going to happen tonight between Rodney and Nova?" Sibel asked curiously as she continued walking.

John squinted, keeping careful pace with his companion. "Well, either things happen smoothly and nothing goes wrong, or McKay does something stupid and makes the entire thing awkward."

"Is there any point in time when McKay isn't awkward?" Sibel laughed as she secretly walked closer to John.

"When he's working." He replied, pulling on Sibel's hand and pulling her even closer. "He's a work-oriented guy. Give him a computer and some hard to understand stuff, and he'll be happy for days. Put him in a room with a woman," He used the hand that wasn't holding Sibel's to make a wide, sweeping gesture. "Mr. Difficult."

Sibel blushed a little, "He truly is...Well, I definitely need to help Nova get ready. The only problem is that if I go in there now, she'll bite my head off then spit me out...She's a very very concentrated writer."

"Wear a teeth-proof scarf." John told her, grinning.

Sibel looked up. "Yeah...Those don't work against her, I've tried. You might want to wear one from now on though." Sibel said looking at the bite mark on Sheppard's neck again.

He shrugged and rubbed his neck. "Eh, I'll look into it. If she's as concentrated a writer as you say, then you actually should get up there." He glanced at his watch. "It's getting late."

Sibel looked around, "Alright, I will. You gonna go try and 'prepare' Rodney? Or is he hopeless?"

John laughed. "I'll talk to him, but that's all I can really do. And...help him pick out a tie." He shook his head. "THAT...is an area that he's hopeless in." He leaned over and gave Sibel a kiss on the cheek, and then said "See you in a bit!" And took off at a brisk jog to find Dr. McKay.

Sibel rubbed her cheek then rushed towards her and Nova's quarters. She opened the door, "Nova! Hurry up and get ready!"

"No Kyla, I'm not--" Nova looked up from her desk and shook her head. "Sorry! I was writing out his line, and then..." She smacked her forehead. "You know what happened. What time is it?"

"Nearly time for your date!" Sibel rushed over to their closet and started rummaging through. "Which dress are you planning on wearing?"

"The black and blue one." Nova said, setting her pen down and jumping up. "Would you do my hair? I can't do my own hair...I mean, I can, but," She shook her head again. "It never comes out right. You're good at that."

She took out the dress, "What kind of hairstyle do you want?" Sibel asked as she smoothed the pretty dress out on the bed.

Nova studied the dress for a moment and observed the low cut, before she said "Some kind of loose up-do."

"Okie-dokie!" Sibel said as she rushed into the bathroom, "Do you want any curls?!" she shouted while fumbling around getting hair products out.

Nova laughed. "If you can make them stay in!"

"Okay, I will TRY!" Sibel said as she took out her special spiral hair curler. It was the only thing that made her hair curl. She started heating it up, luckily it has a turbo-speed on it. "Makes it sound sooo dangerous! You should get your dress on!" Sibel said as she washed her hands.

"Already did!" Nova called back, walking into the bathroom, brushing her hair again. "I don't have flats." She complained, looking down at her bare feet.

"Hehe, this might be a problem. What size shoe do you wear again?" Sibel chuckled as she sat Nova down in a chair and started taking different parts of her hair to curl.

"Eight and a half..." Nova replied, sitting as still as she could.

"Okay good, then you are the same size as me! You can borrow my heels!" Sibel said as she ran to the closet really quickly. "The heels are connected to the rest of the shoe so they're easier to balance in....hopefully. But with our luck, who knows?!"

Nova laughed. "I have heels too, I was just thinking that I don't really want to be taller than my date..." She slipped the shoes on and pressed her feet down to the floor. "Mm, not too bad. I don't think I'll break anything...for a while."

"For the most part, hopefully, yes," Sibel said as she continued curling her sister's hair. She took out some bobby pins and held them in her mouth. She started putting Nova's hair up in a messy bun, leaving some of the hair down. She pinned it all in. "That should work!"

Nova stood up, took a moment to find her balance, and looked in the mirror. She sighed. "Not too bad," She said. "At least I don't look totally dressed up." She turned to the side. "Um, maybe we should re-cover this thing on my neck..."

"That would be a most brilliant idea!" Sibel said, in her fake English accent, as she took out her makeup kit. She covered it up best she could then decided to make the joke of "If he gives you a hickey, just make sure it's on the other side!"

Nova grinned. "Oh, yeah, that's likely. I can totally see Rodney biting my neck." She poked her sister in the forehead.

"Owie!" Sibel rubbed her forehead. "Is he picking you up or something?! Or are you two just meeting... wherever you're meeting...?"

"Um, I'm not sure." Nova replied, shrugging. "He said he'd 'come by', so I'm guessing that means he's picking me up. And then...well, I'm not really sure where we're going!" She smiled at her reflection.

Sibel giggled, "This is going to be sooo awesome! I can't wait 'til you get back... kind of," Sibel said still unsure of what even she was going to do that night.

Rodney straightened out his jacket and turned around, "This tie?" He asked John, who was rubbing his temples while sitting on the bed.

"No, Rodney." John said. "I told you, never to wear that tie with that jacket. Wear that one." He pointed and tried not to sound like a frustrated man.

"Okay, okay!" Rodney rushed over and grabbed the other tie. He started putting it on. "You and Sibel never went on a date did you?" He got frustrated at messing up again and made John put the tie on for him.

"Well, no, not really." John replied, having a bit of trouble tying the knot properly backwards. "She...well, I told you what happened." He patted Rodney's tie, and then sat back down.

"Wait.. You only told me that she kissed you, you never told me what happened after that..." Rodney said in his normal voice.

"I didn't?" John asked, puzzled. "Well, she kissed me, and then after that, I asked her about it, and we kissed again, and then..." He rubbed the bite mark on his neck. "I guess things just took their own course." It was a weird thing for John to say, but it sounded right.

"Okay.. I don't want to know what really happened to your neck now." Rodney took one last look in the mirror, sighed, then walked out of the room and towards Nova's quarters.


	16. Chapter 16

Nova examined her reflection carefully. "Should I put my contacts in?" She asked her sister, trying not to sound rushed.

"Um...yes!" Sibel replied, as she looked through her book on zoanthropes. It didn't have much information since zoanthropes go on looking like normal humans most of the time.

Nova had one contact in, when the door buzzer went off. She hid behind the door, fighting with the small lens and trying to flip it right-side-out. "Sibel, could you get that? I'm a little--OW! Almost done!"

Sibel put her book down, and walked over to the door. She opened and saw Rodney dressed up in formal attire. "Hi! Hold on just one minute!" She closed the door again and waited for Nova.

Nova came out of the bathroom. Her eye looked a little twitchy and red, but she would live. "You can let him in now." She said, smoothing her dress as best she could.

Sibel smiled. "Just remember, stay calm, don't have an asthma attack, and you look great!" She opened the door and revealed her sister. Rodney stared at Nova for a bit then finally choked out, "You look," He gulped for a second, "Um, great!"

Nova flushed red, and barely managed a "Thanks, s-so do you!" She almost wished she'd left her hair down to help cover her face.

Sibel felt awkward so she grabbed her sister's arm and led her closer to the door. "Have fun!" Sibel hugged her sister. "_You'll be fine! Remember, you are BOTH feeling awkward right now, you're not alone.._."

"_Thanks, that makes me feel so much better._" Nova watched the doors slide shut behind her, and then looked up at Rodney and smiled, trying to make herself calm down. She hadn't been on a date since...she was born. And she even had her doubts about before then.

"Well, it's a pretty... um.." Rodney glanced at John who was standing by the door waiting for the two to leave. "Go with the flow-night? I suppose."

"If that's what you want to call it." Nova replied. She shifted her weight, already sore from her shoes. "Um, so...where are we going?" She asked.

"Well, we'll go to dinner. I just set up a table and stuff out on one of the balconies since... well," Rodney motioned to both of them being dressed up.

Nova giggled, and stared down at her hands. "Then...let's go!" She looked up and bit her lip.

Rodney held out his arm. "We'll go to the transporter from here," Rodney saw the smirk on John's face as Nova grabbed his arm. They started walking away and he could swear he heard John chuckling to himself.

Nova tried her best to ignore the confused looks from people they passed in the hallways, until they got outside. The cool air felt good, and Nova realized how warm and awkward she actually felt, and she let the smell of salt water relax her.

Rodney pulled out the seat and let Nova sit down. He then sat down himself, "Um... I'm not sure really what to say..."

"Me either." Nova confessed, putting her napkin on her lap. She looked across the table, and tried not to shy away from Rodney's stare. "...What?"

"Um.. nothing!" Rodney turned away and started setting up the food.

She took a sip of wine, and tried to think of a good way to start a conversation. She always felt awkward sitting alone at a table with someone without saying anything, but it seemed magnified times eleven in this situation for some reason.

"How do you feel about being here on Atlantis?" He asked, feeling the same awkward tension.

"It's...definitely new." Nova replied. "I like being on the water...which is weird, because I'm kind of afraid of large bodies of water."

"I'm afraid of a lot of things..." Rodney said as she fiddled with his fork, "Is there anything that you wanted to ask me? Because I can't find much to talk about..."

She laughed nervously. "Um...how about..." She looked out at the dark horizon, then back across the table. "Uh, you must have had lots of interesting...adventures since being in the Stargate program!"

"You have no idea, I'd rather call them nightmares though..." Rodney said remembering all of things that had happened,."I remember one time when the team went to a planet and this device caused our minds to create illusions. Sheppard shot me that day..."

Nova smiled. "Didn't he shoot Ronon, too?" She asked, trying with all her might to remember the mission report. They all started to run together after about a week.

"Yeah... It was a terrifying experience... Then I got shot with an arrow in my butt..." He reminisced on all of the injuries that he had gotten.

Nova couldn't help giggling, listening to the way he told his stories. They came out with so much more color when he said them, than they did on paper.

"There were a lot of strange things that have happened to Sheppard, Teyla, and I..." Rodney said as he continued to reminisce, glad that Nova found it entertaining.

Nova shook her head, smiling. "Whoo boy, and I thought mine and Sibella's childhood was interesting."

"What interesting adventures have you and Sibella had?" Rodney asked, curious now.

Nova sat back in her chair, and raised one eyebrow. "Well, there was the time that we stalked this one local boy band for about a month, until they called the police. And then another time we stayed up for an entire week straight watching old Twilight Zone and Star Trek episodes. Twilight Zone and no sleep..." She shook her head, laughing. "That's a bad combination, don't ever try it."

Rodney was shocked, "Boy band? Wow...That is pretty...adventurous?"

"Nah, nothing quite as exciting as what's happened in the short amount of time we've been here." Nova said. "I mean, it sounds like an episode of X-Files! We're in the know about this top-secret government program, we get on a spaceship, meet an Asgard, and then arrive on a lost city, use wormhole travel to get to other planets..."

"Heh, sci-fi is truly alive here, isn't it?" Rodney took out some ice cream and dished it out between the two of them.

"So true!" Nova replied, smiling. "Wish my dad could be here...he was a huge Trekkie in the 70's." She thanked him for the ice cream, and started eating slowly, enjoying the taste rather than scarfing it down.

"So you and Sibel are the only people in your family besides your mom and dad?" Rodney asked curiously.

She shifted in her seat again. "Yeah, us and some pets...our pet quantity changes every month or so. And sometimes a weird relative comes to visit." She took another bite of ice cream. "What about you?"

"Just my sister and I... And my cat, but I couldn't bring him to Atlantis," Rodney said missing his dear friend.

Nova choked, trying not to laugh thinking about Mittens and Pretzel. She secretly wondered how long it would be until someone found out their secret. "We bring home cats a lot."

"Really? Cats are wonderful. They're more self-preservative than dogs," Rodney started. "Did you and Sibel each have a cat?"

"Ooh, more than one." It was hard not to spill her guts about the kittens. It was difficult talking about their animals at home without talking about the ones that they had now. "Sibel has a...weak spot, for kittens. Especially when they're really tiny and make a lot of meowing sounds."

"Well, kittens are always hard to ignore," Rodney could feel an odd tension and changed subjects. "Did you two have any other pets?"

"Some dogs, and we used to have a bird. She..." Nova paused. "Actually, I don't know what happened to her." She stared past her date for a long moment, thinking back.

"What's your favorite animal?" Rodney asked, resolving to a childish question since he couldn't think of anything else.

She smiled. "Okay, again this is weird because of the whole phobia thing, but I love bottle nose dolphins." Although entomology was her profession, bugs were far from her favorite creature. "What about you?"

"Honestly, I'm not really sure," Rodney thought back and couldn't think of anything, "Probably a cat or something..." The ice cream was finished and the two simply sat talking in the moon and candle light.

Nova closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. "I've always had cats. They're good to have around. They take care of themselves, do what they want, and make me feel good about myself. They keep you warm at night, and attack all things that move. Even if they do jump up on your lap when you're trying to write." She smiled and sighed, opening her eyes. "Gosh, the ocean sounds so peaceful..."

Rodney looked out at the ocean as well, "Yeah..." the awkward silence returned, "Um...Well, what else do you want to do?"

"How about a walk?" Nova asked. She had somehow completely calmed down, and managed to stand up, even in her heels.

"Well, that works for me," Rodney said as he stood up. "As long as we don't walk fast of course..."

"I couldn't walk fast right now if there was a giant fish wagon being manned by an iratus bug with a giant cargo of spiders chasing us." Nova said, then realized how ridiculous that sounded. "Uh, sorry. I spend so much time around my sister, I forget that most people don't actually know what I'm talking about..."

"Actually.. that makes sense, except the fish part.. You're afraid of fish?" Rodney asked as they began walking.

Nova played with her hair. "Yes, fish. Also attributes to my phobia of large bodies of water." She smiled, sheepishly.

"Wow, I never would have known that. How about bees?" Rodney asked since he was allergic.

"Well, I don't like them," Nova stated, slowly. "But they're probably one of the few bugs that don't send me into a screaming fit running for my life. Although I should, I'm mildly allergic because when I was eleven, I got stung on the temple. My body hasn't been able to handle it since."

"Wow, you allergic to anything else?"

"Um, not lots of things...but a few weird things. Onions give me sore spots, and I can hardly touch grass. But I get really sick in the spring when everything starts blooming...and again in the autumn when it all starts falling." The conversation felt weird, but at least it was conversation. "What about you? I read the mission reports, but that doesn't really tell you much about the actual person."

"I'm allergic to a lot of things, but I have more phobias then allergies," Rodney said recalling his unusual fear of radiation.

"Hmm," Nova giggled. "Yeah, me too. Sibel's afraid of men...but you couldn't have guessed in light of recent events." She resisted the urge to rub at her neck, for the sake of not disturbing the make up.

"Really? She's hominophobic? Do you know why?" Rodney asked intrigued by the phobia.

Nova looked impressed that he knew the proper term. "Actually, I'm not quite sure. I mean, she's had some bad dating experiences...but who hasn't? I've been stalked repeatedly, and I'm not really scared of guys. In fact, I tend to enjoy the company of males more so than females. Except of course my sister."

"Wow, that's odd. She's fairly shy though and keeps to herself it seems," Rodney searched for another subject in his mind. "You've been stalked? By whom?"

"Well, there was this guy I met online who insisted that he was in love with me, and then this other guy from...like, Africa or something. He didn't speak very good English, but he kept insisting that we were going to get married one day, and told everybody I was his fiance." She shook her head. "That was a weird summer. And then also there was a little kid from church when I was a teenager who sat in the row in front of me and stared at me during every sermon. That wasn't as scary as the other guys."

"Wow... I've never been stalked before, thank goodness.. I think." Rodney tried to think back to his high school years.

Nova smiled. "Oh, I'm sure you were. It's just that the kind of girls who stalk geeks do it secretly." She cleared her throat, and didn't bother to explain how she knew that.

Rodney gave her a funny face then stopped, "I need to take a break..." He looked out at the ocean silently for a moment trying to catch his breath.

Nova leaned against the railing, and let the breeze catch her hair and dress. She smiled over at McKay.

Sibel waited next to the door and heard Rodney and Nova leave. She sighed and whispered, "Good luck Rodney!" to herself.

A few minutes later, the buzzer went off again.

Sibel jumped and ran over to the door. She opened it and saw John. "Oh.. Hi!"

"Hey." He said, and glanced at his watch. "I don't really want to stand out there waiting to hear something go wrong...can I come in?"

"Totally!" Sibel said, and stepped out of his way. She couldn't think of really anything to say at the moment, she was nearly screaming inside she was so excited for Nova.

John could read it all over her face. "No dates in a long time, huh?"

"Actually.. It's her first." Sibel said as she sat down on the bed.

Sheppard looked shocked. "Oh. Well, that explains why she's sitting out there twiddling her thumbs and not talking." He sat down next to Sibel.

"Heh, yeah. We're kinda opposite in that area..." Sibel shrugged as she watched them finally get a conversation going.

John smiled. "Anyway, we're having this big 'tournament' thing tomorrow in the sparring room, Ronon's idea." He cocked his head. "Thought you and Nova might be interested. I'm gonna go, so's Teyla, and a few other crazy kids from here and there."

"Ohhh, sounds like fun!" Sibel said as she smiled back, "I'm not sure how it will go over though.." Sibel said remembering hers and Nova's newfound strength.

"Ah, you two will kick everybody in the backside and ruin Ronon's day." He joked.

"Hah, most likely," Sibel said with an 'oops' smile. "Well what do you want to do while those two are awkwardly 'dancing' around each other?"

John glanced out the window, and shook his head. "Leave it up to the nerds to make dinner awkward. Well...we could arm wrestle." He didn't look exactly sincere, but he didn't look like he was joking, either.

Sibel gave him a funny look, "I don't think that that would be a good idea.." Sibel felt John slowly coming closer.

"You're probably right, it'd be a little humiliating for you to beat me at that too."

"Heh, well, honestly, I don't know my own strength yet..." Sibel said as she tried to make it as non-awkward as possible between the two.

"How old are you? Twenty-six? Twenty-seven? You still don't know your strength?" He punched her lightly on the shoulder, smiling.

"Right on the money, I'm twenty-seven," Sibel smiled.

"Ahha, at least I was right!" John exclaimed, glancing back out the window.

Sibel smiled then looked out the window, "Looks like they're having fun now!" She walked over to the window simply to stare at them.

Sheppard stood up and sneaked up behind her, then whispered in her ear "Are we spies yet?"

She jumped a little, "You really need to stop doing that! And no, you must take the special spy exam to become a spy..." Sibel replied as she continued to look.

"Fine. If it has to be that way." He pouted, and joined her at the window.

Sibel stared for a moment then turned around only to run into John who was standing a few inches behind her. "That always seems to happen.. Normally after Nova is in an awkward situation she takes a walk, so most likely after they talk for a while, she's say that they should take a walk."

On cue, Nova stood up from the table, said something, and the two started moving. John raised his eyebrows. "Impressive."

"Want to follow them?" Sibel said, sneakily.

The colonel looked over, wearing a mischievous smirk. "Let's."

The two sneaked along the inside walls as they watched Rodney and Nova pass each window. Sibel decided to ask for fun "How many girlfriends HAVE you had, Colonel?"

John was a bit unprepared for the question, but he quickly recovered. "Well..." He thought for a long moment. "I actually don't know the answer to that question."

Sibel nearly choked laughing, she figured that that was going to be the answer, "It's okay, I understand when I look at it through your perspective.."

John blushed, and stopped walking as they saw Nova and McKay do the same through the window.

"Don't be embarrassed! It just means that you're an extremely attractive man who attracts many women." Sibel tried to get him to stop blushing as she watched the two. She could see Nova ease up and relax.

"Thanks," Sheppard replied. He leaned against the windowsill.

She saw Nova turn and smile, and instantly got a burst of fire. She opened the window and yelled, "JUST KISS HER ALREADY, MCKAY!" When she realized what she said, she ducked down and hid.

Nova nearly jumped out of her skin, hearing her sister's voice. At first, she thought she was hearing Sibel in her head...but then she realized that Rodney heard it, too.

Sibel continued to hide and she pulled Sheppard down by her side, "Oops.."

John was laughing, as he sat on the floor next to Sibel. "You're so busted." He mumbled.

Nova glanced at McKay. "Did you hear...?" She looked around, trying to locate the source of the shout.

"I know, she's totally going to hit me... or tackle me," Sibel said as she continued to hide. Rodney was turning extremely red because of whomever made the comment, "Yeah.. I did!"

"Good, I thought I was losing my mind for a minute..." Nova squinted and looked carefully at the window. She didn't see anyone, or any reflections, but she guessed that her sister had just been standing there a moment ago. She was blushing madly, and was tempted to heave herself over the guard rail.

"Um, yeah.. I'm getting out of here!" Sibel ran away from the window and back to the girl's quarters.

"Um... That was odd," McKay stated not really knowing what else to say because of the experience.

Nova put her hand on her forehead, laughing. "You do know that was Sibella, right?" She asked, not even cutting off the sudden giggle fit.

"I figured as much.. But how?" Rodney looked around and saw the window.

"She has ninja stalking powers." She tried to regain control of herself.

"...What?!" Rodney said still trying to fix what just happened. "Um...What...This is too awkward..."

Nova looked up at him, smiling so wide it hurt. "That was the purpose of the statement."

"How long do you think she was watching?" Rodney asked trying to calm down.

"Goodness only knows." She sighed. "She might just have seen us through the window and decided to yell, or she could have been spying on us from the moment I left the room."

"Personally, I think it was from the moment you left the room. It sounds more like Sibel," Rodney rubbed his head, "Well, what do you think we should do?"

"I think we should plot revenge." Nova smirked.

"What kind of revenge?" Rodney asked, knowing that they couldn't do much between her and Sheppard since they had already kissed.

Nova turned around and leaned against the railing, facing McKay. "Well, we could always put something scary in her bed. Or in her shampoo. But that would be kind of high school..."

"Well, we can plan that after our date..." Rodney said hoping to get some more normal time to spend with Nova.

She smiled. "Fine by me." She resumed walking, carefully watching the windows now for any other sign of Sibel.

Rodney watched the windows too and saw Sheppard pass by them. "Apparently he was involved in the scheme..."

Nova pursed her lips. "Should. Have. Known." She pretended not to see the colonel, put a hand on Rodney's arm, and walked a tiny bit faster. It was a bit difficult in her shoes, but she managed somehow.

"Well, do you just want to keep walking?" Rodney asked, tingling at Nova's touch.

"Or something." She replied, trying to think of a way to shake off their new stalker/s.

"Well, we could go watch a movie! But you might fall asleep again.."

She blushed, and watched the sky. "Yeah, I totally don't even know how that happened..."

"It wasn't as bad as some things I suppose...Not like how Sibel kissed John then ran off." Rodney chuckled, trying to imagine the look on John's face when that happened.

Nova smiled. "That was definitely interesting. Sibel was...incredibly freaked out for a long time." She paused, and looked over at Rodney. "How did I get back up to the infirmary?"

"I had Ronon carry you," Rodney laughed.

"Oh, so that's how my nose got bruised!" She raised her eyebrows, impressed that anyone--even Ronon, could carry her any kind of distance.

"Ronan is very intrigued by the power that you two girls have. It's entertaining." Rodney replied, trying to keep some kind of conversation going.

Nova shook her head, still smiling, and then sighed. "I'm not in the mood to watch a movie, anyway."

"Well, what would you like to do?" Rodney said afraid that the date would just end.

"Mmm..." She looked around. "Not sure. I'm not used to...you know...doing normal-people things. I normally go canoing, or have water-balloon fights, or," Nova suppressed a giggle. "Do karaoke stuff. It's not often I get a chance to just talk and enjoy someone's company."

"Oh, then we could just talk! It works for me!" Rodney replied, happy that someone enjoyed his company.

Nova smiled. "Yeah, works for me, too." She was quiet for a few minutes, before she scoffed. "Have you ever noticed that when you're alone, there's a million things to talk about, and the moment you actually need one of those topics: POOF! Total blank."

"Heh, mostly I talk about things that other people don't understand so I don't try..."

"I usually talk about things that annoy or bore people, but," She shrugged. "I was always kind of the dork in high school, so I didn't really care who was annoyed by my babble. People who weren't...I still talk to them now."

"Ah, so you and Sibel have been this way pretty much all your lives?" Rodney asked as they continued walking.

"Yep!" Nova replied. "Trying to find ways to fit inside jokes into all our stories, without drifting off-topic or making it sound too 'out-there'." Her smile grew. "And whenever someone mentions anything about a rainbow, or starts humming anything Judy Garland, we go at it. You know once, we stayed up all night re-writing the lyrics to Over the Rainbow for a million different shows, and then the next week the computer crashed?"

"Wow... That's different!" Rodney said, trying not to sound confused,."You two are really close aren't you?"

Nova sighed. "Yeah. We're...well, we're sisters. I mean, it's not a perfect relationship...but even a perfect relationship can't be perfect. I wouldn't want it to be!" She laughed. "That would make the good times less special."

"Well said!" He said, then asked "Are you a pessimist or optimist?"

Nova leaned against him. "Hmm...well, you know how some people see the glass as half empty, and others see it as half full?" She asked.

"Yes.."

"There's a third person to that party. The one who stands off to the side, asking who peed in the glass? That's me."

"Wow... I see..." Rodney said, entirely wondering about how Nova discovered this. They talked for longer than they had thought and continued bringing up random subjects but it eventually got an ongoing conversation going.

Time passed, and eventually Nova caught sight of a clock through one of the windows. She gasped. "Did you know that it was half-past midnight?"

"Really?!" Rodney didn't believe her at first, then decided to look at the clock as well, "Well, we both better get to bed.. I'll walk you back to your room."

She smiled. "Thanks." They started back inside.

Sibel was waiting silently on her bed with Colonel Sheppard, "Wow... They must be having fun!"

John glanced at the clock. "Yeah--how long have we been sitting here not spying on them?" He asked. They'd gotten bored, and tired of trying to hide, and come back upstairs quite some time ago.

"Um.. At least an hour." Sibel was slowly starting to fall asleep; she was so bored. She gradually fell over onto John's shoulder and stayed there. "Booooooooored...."

He leaned to counter-balance her weight, and then chuckled. "I feel like an obsessed parent."

"Eh, Rodney won't hurt her, at most she'll kick him...." Sibel yawned.

"It was Rodney I was worried about." John joked, not even attempting to keep Sibel awake.

"Oh well then yes, you should be worried..." Sibel began drifting in between half-sleep and didn't even care. Her day was accomplished, she had made her sister's date more awkward in order to make the awkwardness go away.

Sheppard put his arm around Sibel's shoulders, propping her up in such a way so that her neck wouldn't get sore if she did fall asleep.

Sibel did end up falling asleep and waking up several times. She finally heard the door open and she heard her sister come in. She got a burst of energy and jumped up. "O-M-G What happened?!"

Nova was coming down off of a laughing fit. "Hey Sibel, wow, you guys are up late."

"Late? What are you talking about?!" Sibel said as she yawned and sat back down on the bed.

"It's almost one in the morning!" Nova replied, and smiled a hello at John.

"REALLY?! Wow... You were out late." Sibel smirked as she leaned on John again.

"We got...absorbed in conversation." Nova glanced over at Rodney.

"OH HI RODNEY!" Sibel said, only just then noticing that Rodney was there as well.

"You...are...out of it." Nova giggled. "How long has she been like this?" She asked Colonel Sheppard.

"Since about.... 11 at least," John replied, Sibel yawning again.

Nova sighed, and turned to McKay. "Well, I had a wonderful time." She told him. "Thank you for dinner." She smiled.

"No problem!" Rodney said then hesitatingly gave Nova a kiss on the cheek, "I'll talk to you all tomorrow... or today!" And then he rushed off.

Nova reddened considerably, ignoring the smirk and giggles from Sibel as John bid them goodnight and left for bed.

Sibel smiled as John stood up to leave and gave him a hug. She kept smirking since Nova was still red.

As the doors slid shut, Nova let her hair down and started brushing it out, and then started looking around for her pajamas. She kicked her shoes off in frustration and tossed them at the closet, threw a glance at Sibel, and then continued hunting for her night clothes.

Sibel giggled as she got on her pajamas and lied down in her bed, "Sooo? How was it?"

"I had a nice time." Nova replied, walking into the bathroom to change and leaving the door slightly cracked so she could hear her sister and vice versa. "My feet are killing me, though."

"Haha, sorry!" Sibel laughed as she laid back, "What do you think we're going to do tomorrow? I'm excited for a new day... oddly enough!"

Nova came out of the bathroom, turning the light off behind her, and climbed up on to the top bunk. "Good question." She yawned. "Probably sleep in way too late—again."

"Well, night!" Sibel laid back. She put her sleep mask on and tried to fall asleep, failing in the process.

Nova tapped on the wall. She was tired, but she couldn't sleep, so she tapped on the wall, wondering if she was keeping her sister awake.

"Why can't we fall asleep?" Sibel said as she put her sleep mask next to her pillow.

"Ugh, I don't know." Nova replied. She turned over and lay on her stomach, hanging over the edge of the bed. "You want to go for a run?"

"Why not?!" Sibel said sitting straight up, "I'm staying in my pajamas, though!"

"Psh, me too!" Nova said, jumping down on to the floor. "Race you to the nearest deck!"

"Okay!" Sibel jumped out and the two started running, nearly knocking several people over in the process. They reached their destination and argued for several minutes about who got there first.

"Okay, then, I'll beat you to that...thing over there!" Nova said, pointing at some shadow of an object down near the end of the balcony.

"Okay!" Sibel and Nova took off again in a sprint and got there at the same time, "This is just not working whatsoever... Anything else you want to do?" Sibel looked up at the sky.

Nova leaned against the side of the building. "I...don't know. Maybe if we just lay still and quiet for a long time, we'll eventually fall asleep. I mean...it's been an exhausting day, we could be suffering from fatigue."

"Yeah..." Sibel said as she sat down Indian style and looked out at the sea through the railing.

Nova took a deep breath and closed her eyes, listening to the ocean, and trying to picture big, sunny beaches.

"So...How do you FEEL about him?" Sibel said in a therapist voice as she put on her fake glasses and pretended to jot notes in a notebook.

Nova opened her eyes, and giggled at the sight of her sister wearing phony spectacles. "He's a good man, although his presence can be a little awkward." She said, openly and honestly. The sea made her feel like that a lot of times.

Sibel scribbled a couple "notes" down and said, "Hmmm... And how do you feel about that?"

Nova glared, and sat down as well. "How do you think I feel about that?!"

Sibel blinked then scribbled down a note, "And I will say... You like him! Immensely and uberly!" Sibel jumped off, "I'm sorry your session is over, please schedule another one!" She hopped onto the ledge and laid down, unafraid of falling to most likely what would be her death if she fell.

Laughter erupted from Nova, and she leaned over the railing. "Hey, that's not fair! Come back here so I can beat you up!"

Sibel looked up at the stars, "Why do I feel so full of energy, Nova?!" Sibel jumped up and started walking on the railing, "It's not like much happened, I just can't fall asleep..."

"I could probably fall asleep, if I meditated for long enough." Nova walked beside and below her sister, thinking the day over.

"True... But the point is... I don't want to!" Sibel jumped next to her sister, "Why should I?! I feel like I could go on forever..."

"This is also true. Let's go raid the mess hall! I want jello!"

"Works for me! Ice cream, here I come!" Sibel said as she ran through the door and towards the mess hall.

Nova followed at a decent speed, grabbed a dessert, and sat down at a table, waiting for Sibel.

Sibel piled scoop upon scoop and put some caramel on one side, then sat down at the table and began eating happily. "You think that we might be able to stay up longer because of...you know?"

"I don't know." Nova replied, cramming jello. "I haven't felt tired for days, though. But you were falling asleep when I came back...so...I honestly don't know."

"Hm...Well, I honestly just wanted to see what it would be like to fall asleep on John." Sibel rubbed her head, nervously admitting it.

Nova giggled. "Oh, I see."

"Well... that COULD be the reason I'm so full of energy..." Sibel said, "It felt like the best sleep I ever had and yet it wasn't even an entire hour!"

Nova tilted her head left, then right, in agreement with her sister. "Could be." She took another bite of jello, and then randomly said "Dude, I miss my DVD collection."

"So do I! I miss all of our Sci-fi shows!!" Sibel said as she continued to eat out ice cream, "And Narnia... Of course, one thing is true, we are IN a sci-fi show now..."

Nova laughed. "That's exactly what Dr. Beckett said to me when we first got here." She thought for a moment. "You know, we're like the bad guys in the X-Files...the ones who Mulder's always trying to expose for government conspiracies?" She grinned. "If only he knew how close to the truth he was."

Sibel nodded in agreement, then blinked. "I want a giant pretzel... from the fair...WITH CHEESE!"

Nova stared across the table at her sister. "Well...I...can not help you there."

"What do you think about the not-sleeping situation for you personally?" Sibel asked, unable to keep her mind on one subject for long, the sugar kicking in.

Nova hit her head on the table. "I think, I miss my darkness and my dreams, and I'm going to be so fatigued if I don't get at least five hours of sleep and SIBEL WHY ARE WE SITTING DOWN HERE LET'S GO UPSTAIRS!"

"OKAY!" Sibel said as she finished the ice cream quickly and put their stuff away. The two girls ran upstairs and got into their bed quicker than any two normal humans hyped up on sugar.

Nova hid under her covers, welcoming the dark, and feeling a little more relaxed. "Hmm...tell me a story." She said, and then peeked over the edge of the bed, keeping her blanket over her head.

Sibel lifted her eyes mask, "Seriously? What kind...."

"Any kind!" Nova lay back down on her bed and stared at the ceiling. Moonlight streamed in through the window, canceling out some of the darkness.

"Okay..." Sibel thought through all of her hopeless romantic stories in her mind. She plucked one out of the 'still need to write down' file. "Okay, there was a prince of stone; his heart covered in ice." She began thinking through how to make the story short.

Nova snuggled into her pillow and closed her eyes, using all of her imagination power to make her sister's words into pictures.

"He was handsome, but he never found the one whom made the ice melt. Many maidens tried to warm the prince's heart but failed and left broken-hearted," Sibel continued, thinking through the story carefully. "Then one day, as the prince was walking through the forest. He heard a beautiful female voice singing. He turned around and beautiful fire nymphs flocked around something. As they parted, a beautiful girl dressed with flames took a step forward."

Nova smiled as the colorful images swirled around in her mind, and she thought of characters from books that she'd read, and games that her and her sister had played as young children.

"The girl twirled over to the prince and set her hand on his shoulder, melting some of the ice away just from the fiery touch. She grabbed his hands and began dancing with him," Sibel smiled imagining the scene set to Britney Spear's song Break The Ice. "They danced for a short time and finally his true heart was revealed. The ice had been melted away. The girl watched as the prince began smiling again, and she bowed. She began to walk away; for a fire princess, you are only meant to help, not to stay."

Nova sighed. "Sibel, that's beautiful! An analogy like one I've never heard." She yawned, her eyes drifting shut.

"You asleep yet? Or should I continue?" Sibel giggled beginning to fall asleep as well.

Nova's heavy breathing and silence indicated that she hadn't even heard her sister's question.

Sibel chuckled then put her sleep mask back on. She began to fall asleep, as her last thought of John sent her into her dreamworld of the night.


	17. Chapter 17

Nova woke up surprisingly early the next morning. She leaned over the edge of the bed to see Sibel still asleep, and climbed down quietly, sneaking over to the closet for her morning clothes, humming quietly to herself.

Sibel heard her sister with her new enhanced hearing, but continued to drift in and out of sleep. She was having a good dream and didn't want to wake up. When she remembered what she was dreaming about, she tried harder to fall asleep, thus waking herself up more. She sighed and remembered that something good awaited being awake today. so she lay in her bed for a few moments then threw off her covers.

Nova turned around at the sound of rustling fabric, and smiled. "Good morning star shine!" She sang, grabbing at a hairbrush.

"The earth says hello!" Sibel finished, and got up not as groggy as she expected to be. She rubbed her eyes and splashed her face with water.

Nova looked at the clock, squinted, and threw her glasses on. "Whoa, did you know what it's 7:30? After we stayed up 'til...how late last night? Too late to be giddy at this time in the morning!"

"Really? I'm perfectly giddy and happy!" Sibel said as she started getting her clothes on. She put on a different shirt than usual, since she hadn't worn it in a while. It was a tank top with a dragon on it.

Nova grinned at her sister's choice of apparel, and threw on her regular old black t-shirt, followed by her team jacket, and a smile.

Sibel walked over to the door, "Ready, love?!" She opened the door and took a step outside.

"I'm READY!" Nova said, and the two made their way down to breakfast, a spring in their step.

Sibel linked arms with her sister. "We're off to see the wizard!"

"Is he somewhere over the rainbow?" Nova asked, giggling.

"Of course!" Sibel laughed as they continued walking. They came to the mess hall, arms linked.

Nova glanced over at Rodney, John, and Colonel Carter, sitting at a table looking a little sleep-deprived, and wondered if they were always up this early. She followed Sibel to grab their mels, and then they sat down at the table. Sibel smiled at the group, but gave John her 'special' full-hearted smile. He smiled back but looked tired.

"How are you doing today?" Colonel Carter asked the two girls, in her friendly manner.

"I'd say rather well!" Nova replied. She smiled at Rodney, and felt kind of bad when he gave her an exhausted acknowledgment. "How did you all sleep?" She was often obsessed with the sleep patterns of people, as she felt it gave good insight to their personality traits and other habits.

John shrugged as Rodney nearly fit his head comfortably into his tray.

"Well, I guess that some odd things have been happening and research is leaving us all exhausted," Sam replied for the men, not knowing their relationships with the two girls yet.

"That wraith thing?" Nova replied, seriously. She respected Commander Colonel Carter, and was quite intrigued to meet her after reading all of the mission reports and hearing Colonel Caldwell talk a little bit about her. "I mean, we were told that they've been silent for an abnormal amount of time."

"Yes, and we're all quite concerned..." Sam replied calmly, but still expressed her concern, "Well, have you found anything else odd about what's going on?"

Sibel looked down at her hands and rubbed her neck. "Not really. Well, kind of. I've been searching through my books and I haven't found much information about any other creatures, but with our luck, who knows?!"

Nova laughed nervously, and started slowly eating her tray full of food.

John set his elbow on the table, and then leaned against his hand, throwing a glance first at Rodney, then at Sam, then resting his eyes on Sibel and smiling.

Sibel smiled back and bit her lip. She continued eating but slightly started blushing trying not to think of what John might be thinking at that moment.

Nova smirked at her sister, and listened to Sam talk about a few things. She was slightly amused, actually, by the fact that both men were too tired to listen or think, and herself and Sibel were so busy thinking about the men being too tired to think, it was almost like Colonel Carter was talking to a brick wall--despite Nova's best efforts to pay attention.

Sibel suddenly got the urge to spar with John again but resisted it as much as possible. "_If he wasn't so tired_!" Sibel thought.

"_What if he wasn't so tired?_" Nova replied, wondering if her sister had sent the message on purpose. She kicked Rodney under the table when he closed his eyes.

Rodney winced as he sat up straight, "Ow..."

"_Oh...Um...I'm getting that...Urge, heh..._" Sibel replied, longing at that moment to tackle John to the ground and make him feel awkward like before. She liked it when guys felt awkward, it allows you to get a look into their mind, even if only for a brief moment.

"_Hmm, the urge where you want to kiss a certain someone, or the one where you want to kill him?_" She shot Rodney an apologetic-yet-amused look, smiling.

"_Kiss...mostly,_" Sibel smirked as she remembered the look on John's face when she was extremely close.

Nova nodded, and then restrained herself from asking a million questions of Colonel Carter, instead wondering what a good topic would be to prompt good questions.

Sibel smiled playfully knowing that John would try not to react to anything she did at that moment because of Colonel Carter. She leaned back in her chair and set her legs on his lap under the table.

He jumped, then put his hands on Sibel's shoes and hit them together until they made a distinct _thunking_ sound, and smiled as Rodney looked around trying to figure out what that sound was. Nova was about to engage Sam in conversation, when she announced that it was time for her to get back to work, and left.

Sibel giggled as she watched McKay continue to look for the sound. "What'cha doing there Rodney?"

"Hmm? Um, nothing." He replied, shortly. Nova rolled her eyes, smirking, and continued eating.

Sibel chuckled then started humming 'The Mating Game'. John gave her a funny look, but she continued.

Nova couldn't help but laugh, her sister had such an ability to hum songs at the appropriate moment. She kicked Rodney again under the table, this time for no apparent reason. Just because she felt like kicking him.

Sibel smiled then asked, "Why are you two actually tired?"

Rodney looked at Nova, "Well, I don't know about John but I couldn't sleep!"

"I mean, why? What kept you up?" Sibel laughed curiously.

"You did." John teased, and started drumming on her ankles with his fingers.

"Besides us." Nova said, smirking.

"Nothing..." Rodney replied blushing a little as he leaned back in his seat. Sibel immediately dropped her feet through John's legs and pulled them back. She tried as much as possible to show that it "didn't" tickle.

John smirked, and continued to harass her, touching her legs with the tips of his boots.

Nova leaned over the table and sighed. She stirred her water with her finger, resorting not to drink it for fear of the strange taste getting to her again.

Sibel clenched her jaw and turned in her seat. She put her feet up on Nova's lap instead.

Nova made a "you're squishing me" sound, then leaned back and rested her elbows on her sister's shin bones. "So, what are we doing today?" She looked curiously across the table at McKay.

Rodney leaned forward a little. "We're heading to the mainland to visit the Athosian settlement, before Ronon's...thing."

Sibel grinned as she brought her feet back down to the floor and leaned forward. She whispered in a teasing way. "There aren't going to be any cute Korean guys, right?"

Nova shoved Sibel, and said "No, dur, we're not anywhere near Korea. Lightyears away, in fact."

John stared at her like she'd just called him a pony, and Nova had to bury her face in her arms to keep from laughing.

Sibel ran over to the other side of the table and sat next to John. She clung to his arm, "Well good, you know they're my kryptonite...Kind of...John's more of my kryptonite...But wait...That would mean that I would be Hercules and he would be Megara," Sibel got a weird look on her face.

Nova's attempts not to laugh became more feeble, made even worse by Rodney's puzzled stare. She finally was able to take back most control, and said "Basically cute Korean guys are her weak spot." She explained to an equally-puzzled-looking John.

Sibel looked at John and smiled innocently, then rested her head on his shoulder, "Let's just say, it has to do with teenage girl fantasies about Korean boy bands like N'sync but cooler!"

Nova made a face, indicating to John that she didn't have similar sentiments. "I still prefer cute geeks." She mumbled, glaring playfully at her sister.

Sibel giggled, "Like Rodney?" she whispered quietly enough so that Nova and John could hear but Rodney couldn't.

Nova caught a giggle in her throat, and turned her head to look at a wall so that the other two couldn't see how much she was blushing.

Sibel giggled, "You know, you need more sleep. You look... deprived." Sibel laughed, gesturing to John closing his eyes as much as possible.

"I'd get more sleep if I wasn't staying up all night, wouldn't I?" He replied.

"You too, Rodney." Nova said, putting her feet up on the empty chair next to her

"I blame you..." Rodney whispered. Sibel suddenly burst out in her normal randomness, "I want to go camping!"

Nova stared at her, like rather than "I want to go camping" She'd just shouted "THE SUN JUST EXPLODED AND DRIPPED MOLTEN JELLY BELLIES ON ME!" She'd been distracted by what Rodney had said, mostly because she knew she wasn't supposed to have heard it.

"I need to relax.. That giant bowl of ice cream from last night is still affecting me!" Sibel got out of her seat. "Catch ya later!" Sibel hugged John, then ran off to nowhere.

"Don't jump off of anything!" Nova called after her sister, then shook her head, laughing. She felt strangely normal, not psycho or hyper or weird or tired or anything. Just normal...which, for Nova Sudenkorento, was anything but normal.

"You feeling awake enough to keep me company while I study a wraith dart that we have?" Rodney asked as he stood up gesturing to Nova to come with him.

Nova smiled, and stood up. She bumped the table clumsily, then growled and slammed her hand onto it, telling it aloud to shut up. She cleared her throat. "Of course! Goodness knows, you need it if you're going to get anything done besides napping."

"You want to come John?" Rodney looked at John and came back up from his comfortable position on the table.

"Eh, why not?" John replied, stretching his arms over his head and letting out a refreshing sigh. He stood up. "Well, let's go!"

The three walked down towards where the wraith dart was held. They walked into the room, and found Sibel trying to untangle her leg with some unconnected cords. "THEY ATTACKED ME FIRST!"

Nova hit her forehead with the palm of her hand. "You let down your guard long enough for them to attack you?! Tsk tsk!" She walked over to her sister and tried to help her untangle herself, while Colonel Sheppard and McKay exchanged looks.

Sibel finally got untangled. She brushed herself off, smiled then walked away and out of the room merrily skipping to who knows where. "That was... odd." Rodney said slightly confused by the sudden event.

Nova laughed. "And this is unusual?" She spun around and sat down on a box, and crossed her legs.

John seemed a little confused by Sibel's newly-acquired desire to disappear every five minutes.

Rodney set up his computer and started working over the wraith language carefully. He studied all of the symbols and readings as John sat down next to Nova. "Well... so far not much is changing our already acquired knowledge.. But it's always better to go over it a second time!"

"Amen to that!" Nova replied, suddenly wishing she'd brought her clipboard down with her. "I remember I thought it was hard learning Spanish when I was in high school."

"I don't think that the three of us have ever been together without Sibel.. It feels kind of weird!" McKay said, only to mean weird as the missing feeling of 'OMG I WANT COOKIES' or some other odd randomness blurting out every five minutes.

"Sibel has that effect on people." Nova said, smirking. She turned to John, now wishing to found out more about her sister's new love interest. "So...John, tell me about your exes." She wasn't shy in asking.

He was slightly surprised by the question, but it didn't take him long to answer "Well, I was married once..." In a monotonous fashion, like he'd said it too many times in the past.

Rodney turned around for a moment then turned back, "Yeah.. you screwed that up didn't you?" Rodney felt a pen hit the back of his head.

Nova rolled her eyes. "What was she like? What went wrong?"

"Well..." The colonel shrugged. "You know, women..."

"Oh, what, and Sibel's not a woman?" Her accusation was clearly teasing.

"That's not what I meant--I mean, she's...it's not like that..."

Rodney turned around suddenly intrigued by the conversation, "Yes, John, what did go wrong?"

John shifted positions, looking a little uncomfortable. "Well, I started getting into all this top-secret stuff, sometimes I'd be gone for weeks at a time. She didn't really want me in the military anyway, but when I started staying away longer than usual...she thought I was seeing another woman. And then she didn't believe me when I told her I wasn't."

Rodney grew slightly more concerned for his normal Rodney-ness. He continued to stand and watch though, thinking that it wasn't a good idea to say anything at that moment.

Nova frowned. "Well, then, perhaps she was petty?" She tossed a glance at Rodney, and looked back over at John.

"Nahhh...it just doesn't really work out between two people when one has top-level security clearance and the other doesn't." Sheppard shrugged.

Rodney nodded, "I can understand that...To a certain point, if they have a problem with it, then it's not supposed to work out in the first place!"

Nova laughed. "Well then, it's a good thing Sibel has top-level security clearance, is it not?"

Rodney gave Nova a funny look, not expecting her to make this any more awkward. He finally decided after a quick moment to join in. "Yes, it is a good thing. Huh John?"

John was red, and lost in some sort of thought, but was able to snap out of it. "Yes. Good thing!" Nova wasn't sure he knew exactly what he was agreeing to.

Rodney smirked then pretended to continue his work. The conversation between them all was adding an odd sense of awkwardness to the room. It was the fact that John pretty much said in a roundabout that Sibel would work in marrying and the fact that Nova was continuously coming up with awkward questions which in any case, it would be awkward if Sibel walked in.

"Do you...enjoy, torturing me?" John finally asked, on about question number fifteen.

Nova shrugged, smirking. "Perhaps. Or maybe I just find joy in tormenting people in general. Like this," She began poking him repeatedly in the same place on his shoulder, until his glare was so thick she swore it'd melt a hole in her brain. Then she stopped.

Rodney backed up a little bit remembering the times when Sheppard gave him that glare. John was scary when he was angry, but he actually showed it unlike Ronan.

Nova was evidently unaware of his abilities to tear down brick walls, and continued right on asking annoying questions, until eventually an awkward silence enveloped the room. Nova stood up and peered over Rodney's shoulder, carefully scrutinizing his work and trying her best to understand it.

"This is weird..." Rodney said, seeing something that he didn't before, "We found this dart only a few months ago right? Shortly before the point where we didn't hear anything about the wraith..."

"And?" Nova tried to make sense of the jargon on the screen, peering at it closer. "What'd you find?"

"There's a recorded communication in here...but I can't decode it yet. I'll need some of the scientists to help me with this," Rodney said suddenly "Wait, I can decode some of it.. It's talking about some kind of plan to destroy Atlantis...Oh that's not good..." He said, when suddenly a bright red light started blinking and they heard the self-destruct sound. "Run, get out of here!" Rodney screamed.

"Why?! What does that mean?!" Nova shouted above the increasing racket, but realized that when somebody yells like that, they usually know what they're talking about. She took off toward the door, John following a few meters behind, as Rodney practically banged on the keyboard in a desperate attempt to do...something. Probably shut whatever that was off.

Rodney ran, in a last attempt to get away from the dart as it exploded, shaking the entire tower and sending bits and pieces of rubble everywhere. Sibel heard and felt everything and ran towards the sound. She saw the blast marks and immediately called the infirmary as she searched around in the smoke for everyone. "Nova?! John?!" Sibel yelled into the smoke, surprised that she was able to breathe.

Nova heard coughing, as she kicked a big piece of metal away, and realized that the coughing was her own. "Colonel Sheppard? Dr. McKay?! Sibel?" She stood up, shaky, but unharmed aside from a nasty set of bruises on her knees where she fell.

"Over here!" John's call came from not too far away. He looked banged up pretty bad, a nice cut across one side of his face, and goodness only knew how many bruises.

Nova finally caught sight of her sister, who was running toward them waving smoke and debris away from her face.

"Nova?!" Sibel squinted then was suddenly able to see, she feared that her eyes had turned golden again but hopefully, only Nova would notice. She ran over. "Are you alright?!" She helped her sister off of the floor, "Where's John?"

"He's over there," Nova managed, coughing and trying to rub dirt out of her eyes and away from her contact lenses.

"I'm fine." John said, approaching the two.

"Rodney!" Nova exclaimed, looking at the colonel. "He was back there! Where is he now?!"

Sibel looked around, "Rodney?! RODNEY!" Sibel nearly roared through the smoke trying to wake up Rodney if he was unconscious.

Rodney moaned, an excruciating pain in his stomach. He looked at his arm; it was bleeding, "Oh god..." he moved his other arm down to his stomach and felt something hard. It sent a jab of pain through his body when his fingers touched it. There was smoke everywhere and he didn't dare look down to see what it was.

Nova joined her sister. "Rodney? Dr. McKay? Rodney!" It hurt to yell, but she didn't feel she could stop even if she wanted to. There...she was sure she'd heard something! The doors to the room where the dart had previously been were blown off completely.

Rodney heard the two girl's and John's voices. He coughed, then managed to choke out, "Nova! John! Sibel!" Each time he spoke it was like something was digging through his veins with knives.

Nova was sure she'd heard something that time, and started carefully digging through rubble. She found Rodney, finally, being hidden from visibility by several large pieces of broken materials. "Sibel, Colonel Sheppard, I found him!" She screamed, and then examined the wound on his stomach, from which protruded a huge shard of razor-sharp metal, probably a piece broken off from the dart.

"I'll lead the medics to him!" Sibel said feeling like she was in a mission of Starcraft. Rodney moaned as Nova touched the metal, "Ow! Please, don't do that!"

"Sorry! Sorry..." Nova said, retracting her hand. She bit her lip, nervously, trying to examine the extent of the injury without hurting him.

Rodney was in too much pain to say much else. He could barely stay awake, he had lost enough blood. Sibel came back with Dr. Beckett right behind her wearing a mask. He ordered the medical team to set up stretcher. He bent down and examined the wound, "It's alright, you should be fine Rodney. We're going to try and get you back to the infirmary." Sibel bent down and held her sister from behind knowing that she'd be worried.

They followed the team at a safe distance back to the infirmary, and tried their best to stay out of the way as medical personnel rushed about, and a nurse tended to John's minor wounds.

Sibel glanced at Nova, as they wanted to check over her to make sure that she was alright, "I'll go check on him.." Sibel said trying to keep her sister as non-worried as possible, if possible in any way shape or form. Sibel followed and watched as the doctor's carefully examined the wound then begin to try and take out the shard. Rodney had become unconscious from loss of blood so luckily he wasn't in pain at the moment.

Nova kept glancing around the room, chewing on her lip and trying not to have a nervous breakdown. All that had happened so quickly, and now he was in the hospital, badly hurt, and they were all lucky even to be alive. Once again, reality hit her square in the face, and she began to feel a little nauseated.

Sibel watched the procedure. She desperately wanted to check on John, the cut on his face was bad but not bad enough to leave a scar. She was still worried. She was even more worried about her sister though, and wanted to help her as much as possible. She watched them extract the metal from McKay's stomach, and winced just seeing it. She could never imagine what that felt like, unless it wasn't as painful as her and Nova's first transformation.

A few minutes passed. Nova continued to keep herself out of the way, trying to see what was going on. The nurse finished up with Colonel Sheppard, and he nodded his thanks and joined the sisters.

"You two okay?" He asked, looking them over for injuries.

"I'm fine, I wasn't there, remember!" Sibel replied as she turned back to the operation. She watched the doctors stitch up the wound. She gave her sister a side hug to assure her that everything would be fine.

"Right." John stood beside Sibel, and tried to make the girls feel a little more secure.


	18. Chapter 18

Rodney woke up, drearily, in the infirmary. He looked around and saw Nova standing next to his bed, along with Colonel Sheppard and Sibel.

Nova glanced over at Sibel and John, engrossed in conversation, when she noticed McKay stirring. "Rodney?" She whispered, then poked her sister. "I think he's awake!"

Sibel turned and saw the scientist staring at her sister.

"What happened?" He managed.

"Something exploded, that's all I know!" Sibel sat down in a chair.

"The dart." Nova stated. "You told John and I to run, and stayed behind to do something. I guess you didn't get out on time." She leaned forward. "How's the, uh...?"

"The what?" Rodney said looking over himself.

Sibel stared for a moment, "A shard of metal went into your stomach." Rodney's eyes opened wide as he looked down and saw a large bandage.

"It exploded." Nova repeated, her countenance grim. "I thought...I was afraid you..." She didn't trust herself to finish the sentence, and instead stopped talking and patted Rodney on the arm. "I'm glad you're alright."

Rodney smiled, but turned his attention back. "I don't want to know how bad it was..."

Sibel looked at John, "What happened before the explosion?"

John shrugged, indicating that he really hadn't been paying much attention.

"Um...Atlantis!" Nova blurted. "Rodney, you said that there was an encrypted message in the ship's log, something about destroying Atlantis!"

"That's kinda terrifying..." Sibel said quietly, not even having seen a wraith yet.

Rodney tried to remember, "It said something about a plan that they were working on.. Capture was one of the words, other than that, I couldn't get anything."

Nova shook her head, and sighed. "I guess their mission was a failure, if we have their dismembered...now destroyed...dart in the, um, well, what's left of the lab."

"Hopefully." Sibel said quietly, once again pointing out the "glass as half empty" point of view. Rodney tried to decode the other words that he saw but nothing came up. There was random bunches of letters flying through his thoughts. "Well, we can't do much at this point since it self-destructed. All we can do is-"

Sibel cut in. "Be ready!" She jumped up in a super crime-fighting posture.

"Always." John said. "That's why I had Carter arrange a schedule to have three SG teams on active duty around the clock."

"You did all that the five minutes you were gone?" Nova asked, looking up at the colonel.

"No, I asked Carter to do all that in the five minutes I was gone. And I went to the bathroom."

Nova looked back down at Rodney, who smiled.

Sibel had the sudden urge to take out her super hero cape and pretend to fly around, but she resisted.

John sat back, clasped his hands, and said "Well, I dunno about you, but I'm ready to get some food. Glad you're okay Rodney, anybody wanna join me for lunch?"

Nova threw a quick glance at her sister.

Sibel jumped up. "YES! I am glad you're okay too, but I'm extremely hungry! I've been running around all day."

Nova smiled. "You guys go ahead, I'm not really that hungry. Little anxiety spell, it'll pass."

"Alright," Sibel gave her sister a quick hug, then took her side next to John. "I'll bring you both some jello!"

"Thanks!" Nova laughed, watching her sister bounce out of the room alongside the colonel. "Blue!" She called.

Rodney smiled. "Thank you... Normally I don't like company but yours in nice to have."

Nova blushed. "It's no problem. Nothing else for me to do, anyway." She pulled her chair closer to the bed.

"So, why were you asking John so many awkward questions?" Rodney asked curiously.

"Mmm..." Nova shrugged. "I guess sometimes Sibel rubs off on me a little more than I'd care to admit. And she has a tendency to make people feel...awkward. Especially people who never are, like Colonel Sheppard." She giggled. "Why? Make you uncomfortable?"

"No, I found it funny though. I never heard so much about John's past." Rodney chuckled.

"That's another part of it." Nova added. "I like to know about people, it makes me more comfortable around them."

"Well, there's not much to me.." Rodney joked as he thought about his 'exs', "Not much has happened."

"Well, you did spend a lot of time in Russia, and a lot of time before that studying the Stargate." When he gave her a confused look, she smiled and said "Mission reports! They tell you a lot. I know almost all of the history of SGC, Atlantis, and...yes. Lots. And I remember almost every word of it."

"Wow, you are smarter than I first expected when I met you," Rodney said not meaning it to sound like an insult.

Nova laughed briskly. "Well, thank you! And you're..." She made a face. "So, how's life?"

"Wow, that was slightly terrifying," Sibel said as she walked next to the Colonel, "I thought you two were dead!"

"Yeah, well, we're good at making people wrong about that." John replied, smiling, as they entered the mess hall and grabbed some lunch.

Sibel sat down with her tray and started eating. She kind of stared, wondering what the message from the dart meant. She was worried; she had never met a wraith before but had heard terrible stories. She shivered just thinking about all of the things that they could be planning.

John noticed her uneasiness, and touched her hand. "Don't worry too much, we get empty threats from those guys all the time." He shrugged, and took a bite.

"Empty? Well, you and Rodney could be dead right now just from that explosion.. I don't really consider that an empty threat." Sibel shrugged as she tried to calm down.

John raised his eyebrows. "Well, I was thinking on a larger scale, like...blowing the whole city out of the water. But if you think about it like that, yeah, I guess it had some merit."

Sibel blew some of the hair out of her face and leaned back, "It's just that.. I'm seriously trying to figure out what they meant by that message."

"Ahh probably just another one of their 'I would have gotten away with it too if it weren't for you meddling kids' plans." He paused. "Although, they fact that they haven't attacked in a while kind of does say something..."

Sibel started cracking up, and covered her mouth as the squeaking in her voice appeared. She calmed down then resisted bursting into giggle fits.

John raised his eyebrows...he didn't think it was that funny.

Sibel giggled at the look. "Scooby Doo was my favorite cartoon character, what can I say...?" She laughed. "I was always Daphne and Nova was Velma.. good times, gooooood times."

"That's...appropriate." John said, nodding to the side.

"Uh huh.. What do you mean by that?" Sibel questioned. She was a little out of it.

John cleared his throat. "Nothing! I wasn't insinuating anything about anything."

"Uh huh..." Sibel giggled. "Were you Fred?"

John crossed his arms. "You're assuming that I ever..." The stare from Sibel told him she knew that he did, in fact, compare his friends and himself to cartoon characters at some point. "Fine. Yes."

Sibel giggled, "It's alright, everyone did that at some point!" Sibel looked around, and wondered what else to talk about. She examined the cut on John's face. "You'll be okay, right?"

"What, this?" John pointed at the butterfly patches on his face. "It's nothing, I'll be fine."

"Okay, good," Sibel smiled. "Well, I better bring these jellos to Rodney and Nova. You're coming, right?"

"Uh, sure." He put his napkin on the table next to his empty bowl.

Sibel put the trays away and grabbed the jellos. The two started walking back to the infirmary.

"You and your sister made a bomb with mac n cheese in it???" Rodney asked surprised at the odd conversation him and Nova were having.

"Well, we couldn't find gummy bears!" Nova laughed.

"You two have very odd adventures...And if your sister really stick an anchovy in your ear..." Rodney said, realizing why Nova truly would be scared of fish.

"Yes, yes she did." Nova said, touching her ear like she expected to find a small slimy pizza topping in it.

Rodney watched as Colonel Sheppard and Sibel walked in. "I brought you two your snacks!" Sibel smiled as she skipped over and handed the jello to the two of them.

"Thanks a million!" Nova exclaimed, and began digging in to the gelatin dessert. "Mmmm..." She hummed, and then said "Ahha, so this is what's been missing in my life for the past several days!"

"It was like going through withdrawal when we ran out one time." Rodney said, as he also enjoyed the blue goop. Sibel sat down next to Nova and watched as John awkwardly stood there. She gave him a funny look, grabbed him, and pulled him down until he was sitting on her lap. She held him around his stomach and laid her head on his back.

John startled, and then did his best not to squish the young mythologist flat.

Nova suppressed her giggles, though not very well. "That can't be any worse than the way Sibel gets if she doesn't get ice cream at least once a week." She said.

Sibel opened her eyes wide. "No one in this room except Nova can even imagine..." She laid her head back down happily.

Rodney gave them a weird look. "Ever had a woman do that to you before, John?"

"Not quite." The colonel replied, though he was smiling.

"She does that to everyone." Nova mumbled through a mouth full of jello, as if she didn't even notice her sister's obviously bizarre behavior.

"Not nearly everyone, only people whom I..." Sibel paused and recoiled a bit rephrasing her sentence. "Hold near to my heart!"

This time, though, Nova did choke, and looked at the infirmary wall in an attempt to regain her composure. John made a face that was visible to nobody but Rodney, and Nova caught her breath and finished off her snack.

Rodney made a face back at John then continued snacking. Sibel was actually quite comfortable, and warm. She was normally a VERY cold person, so warmth was an odd occurrence to her. She leaned back into the chair, pulling John with her. "When did the doctors tell you that he's free to go?" Sibel asked her sister.

"Tomorrow night." Nova replied, and set her empty bowl on a tray. "Evidently, the wound was mostly flesh, no real harm." She smiled, hopefully. "Maybe then we can get that visit to the Athosians in! I've really been looking forward to meeting them." Her disappointment in not getting to meet Teyla's people was strong in her voice, but obviously the prospect of tomorrow hung steady.

"Oooo, yeah, that will be fun! And guess what," Sibel leaned over and whispered into her sister's ear, "I don't have any longing for Korean guys." Sibel's eyes opened wide as she came back to her chair.

Nova tossed a playful astonished gape at Sibel, mumbled "Well, isn't that somethin'?!" And smirked, while John attempted, fruitlessly, to figure out what she'd just said.

Sibel rubbed John's back with her head and rested there, "_Better than a Korean guy...Who knew_?!" Sibel teased her sister through her mind. "_And is Rodney better than Mulder?_"

Nova took Sibel's teasing seriously for a moment, as she glanced over at the somewhat-relaxed astrophysicist. "_Hmm...we'll see._" And then smirked over at her sister, giggling.

Sibel giggled along with her then leaned back again, "You know, you're not that heavy... Of course, I pick up everyone..."

"That's...good to hear." John replied, still looking a bit concerned for her physical health. If he was concerned at all for her mental stability, he was doing a decent job of hiding it.

Sibel started cracking up imagining Rodney sitting on her sister's lap. Her sister gave her a funny look but, remained silent, and instead tossed Sibel a look that said 'don't get any ideas', but cracked a smile after a few moments. Again, the two men began to feel excluded from an evident communication between the girls.

Sibel could feel John tense up a little bit then hugged him tighter. "What do you want to do today, Nova?"

Nova leaned back in her chair. "Let me come down off of my sudden loss of adrenaline." She said, realizing that she'd been clenching the arm wrests, and tried to relax a little.

"I want to get back to the lab and try to decode what is left of the message in my brain." Rodney said as he sat up a little. Carson heard the comment and glared a little.

Nova laughed. "I don't think that Mr. Diligent over there is going to allow that until your scheduled release."

"Mr. Diligent?" John asked, a bit confused and bemused at the strange remark.

"Shut up." She shot back, smiling.

Sibel choked on a laugh then continued to 'snuggle' against John's back, "I think that I need some ice cream soon. I'm beginning to go through withdrawals..."

"You just had some!" Nova protested, watching the colonel's face with a certain level of amusement evident on her own.

"I did?" Sibel asked, totally oblivious. "Well then... I wonder if I can pick you up bridal style..." Sibel said measuring the amount of weight that John had on him with her mind.

"Don't throw your back out again." Nova teased, glancing again at Rodney to make sure he was alright.

"I don't think so," John stood up, then bent over Sibel. "But I'll bet I can pick you up!" He slipped one hand under her knees, the other around her shoulders, and hefted her effortlessly out of the chair, to which Nova's response was laughter and a few compliments on John's physical strength.

Sibel blinked a few times not realizing what had just happened. She loved a guy who could carry her like that though. "Well if I couldn't pick you up, Nova could!" Sibel said, and remembered how the two threw a tree together.

"Oh, I'm blushing." Nova said, sarcastically, and once again forced herself to unclench her fists. She didn't know what was wrong with her, but figured it was probably stress-related.

Sibel could see her sister tensing, "_Are you alright?_" Sibel could feel the odd tension in the room increasing even though no one was really silent.

"_Mmm, fine._" Nova rubbed her forehead. "_I'm just coming down off of a lot, but I think I'll be fine after a few hours._"

"_Okay. If you say so..._" Sibel began then looked at Sheppard. "You know... You can put me down now..."

"Right." John replied, letting Sibel drop her legs to the floor. Nova's previous look of girlish happiness had been replaced with a tired smile, as she fiddled around with her hair somewhat restlessly, bit her lip, scrutinizing Rodney carefully.

Sibel looked at her sister and smiled, "Don't worry. Carson patched him up good! Trust me, I watched!"

"Oh, I trust Dr. Beckett's judgment entirely. And yours, Sibel." Nova said, and sighed. John glanced uneasily between the girls, sensing the icy tension that had begun to blanket the room.

Sibel stared at everyone for a moment then blurted out. "WE COULD PLAY UNO!"

Nova opened her mouth, as if to speak, and stared at her sister. She was comforted to have her random weirdness back, even if they'd only been apart for two or so hours.

"Uno...sounds nice." John said, pulling up a small bedside table.

"Whoohoo!" Sibel jumped up and sat next to the table taking out a bag of tons of different game cards, including Uno, Bicycle, and Rook. She set up a game of Uno for four, "Carson, you don't want to play with us right?" Carson shook his head solemnly, "Sorry, deary, I have more work to do."

Nova pouted, less-than-solemn. "Of course." She smiled instantly, a certain tiredness still showing behind her eyes, as she scooted her chair so that she was somewhat across the table from McKay, and then glanced at Sibel.

"You always carry those?" John asked, gesturing to Sibel's card packs.

"Yup! You never know when you'll need them at some point in time!" Sibel finished setting up, and glanced at her sister. "Um...Beware, my sister and I are very violent in this game..."

Nova did her best imitation of the Wicked Witch of the West's evil cackle, and then said "Beware our card-launching powers..."

Sibel laughed. "We get REALLY loud..." Sibel began by letting Rodney go first. The cards went around the table, people occasionally drew and others called uno occasionally, but failed in winning.

Eventually, the growling and sisterly accusations started flying, and it wasn't thirty minutes into the game until Nova launched an attack at Sibel. Sheppard sat back in his chair, beginning to feel slight frustration at their inability to do a simple thing like playing Uno without getting into something physical.

Nova hit Sibel on the arm. "Ouch!" Sibel saw the look on John's face and sat back up. She tried to look proper. "_We should really cut down on the tackling...People are starting to look at us weird..._" Sibel thought as she continued to play.

Nova cleared her throat and sat back. "Sorry." She mumbled. "_You're probably right_." She replied, and took her turn casually, then glanced over at Rodney sideways.

They continued to play and Nova won. Sibel sat back. She loved Uno, but she didn't like winning. "Naturally I would ask you all to play Rook with me... But I'm not sure how that would go over with the odd circumstances..."

"That, and you always have to re-explain the rules to me." Nova grumbled. "I'm not in the mood for Rook. Actually, right now, I'm just in the mood for sleeping." She glanced at the clock, realizing that the reason she felt like that was because of the late hour.

"We should head to bed," Sibel smirked, "_Or do you want to sleep in the infirmary with Rodney?_"

Nova resisted the childish urge to stick her tongue out at her sister. "We should." She agreed, aloud. "Hey, tomorrow's a new day!"

John looked at the clock as well, and stood up, stretching. "Okay then, see you all...tomorrow morning at breakfast!" He glanced down at McKay. "Except for you, I'll see you after breakfast." He corrected.

Sibel giggled, then saluted Rodney, "Nighty-night!" She bounced out of the infirmary and waited for her sister.

In an almost-empty room, Nova smiled and touched Rodney on the shoulder. "You'll be alright?"

"Hopefully..." Rodney said, then seeing the girl's solemn look "I'll be fine!" He reassured.

She sighed. "All right then, good night." She stood at his bed side for a moment, unsure of what to do next, and then joined her sister out in the hall.

Sibel smiled, "You should have given him a kiss on the cheek. Guys like it when you do that! Sometimes they even blush!" Sibel smirked, "It's an occasional occurrence, watch!" Sibel stood on her toes and gave John a kiss on the cheek.

Sibel's hypothesis proved accurate, as John flushed a gentle shade of crimson from the unexpected contact.

Nova giggled. "Well, how true!"

"See, it works!" Sibel giggled then hugged John, "Well, we better head off to bed!"

"Yeah, 'night!" The colonel replied with a smile, and then he was off. Nova and Sibel made their way up to the room, realizing how taxing a day they'd had.

Once inside, Nova said "So, we all get to pay a good visit to the mainland! That will be...wonderfully relieving."


	19. Chapter 19

Sibel began dancing around her sister's bed, waiting for her to wake up. Then, she had an idea; she ran over to her stereo and turned on some punk music from MXPX.

Nova stirred, an unpleased expression crossing her face. "Mmm...What? WHAT?!" She sat bolt upright in bed, covering her ears. "Okay, okay, I'M AWAKE!"

"Good! We get to head to the mainland today!" Sibel jumped back and turned the stereo down. She ran into the bathroom and grabbed a hairbrush, brushed out her red hair and put on her jacket, and then sat down on her bed and waited for her sister.

Nova somehow managed to appear in proper attire, rubbing her eyes. "Too bad Rodney won't get to come out with us today, he was looking forward to that break." She glanced at the clock. "Wow, we slept way in!"

Sibel glanced at the clock. "Holy cow! Seriously!" She jumped up and linked arms with her sister. "Well, I have decided to become a talking tumor attacked to your arm! Onward!"

"Alright, talking tumor, onward we march!" Nova responded, perking up. The two made their way out of the room, through several huge halls of Atlantis.

They came to the jumper room and watched as some others loaded it with random goods. "I think that I lost one of my rings in here. It disappeared from our bedroom..." Sibel randomly said while looking around.

Nova glanced at her sister. "Really?" She looked around for colonel Sheppard, tapping her fingers. She had a bad feeling, and decided to make sure to eat a protein bar or something before they reached land.

Sibel glanced around, looking for Colonel Sheppard also, when he appeared behind them once again. "You girls really are attached to each other!"

They jumped and spun around, continuing to be linked.

"Indeed we are!" Nova agreed, and then slipped her arm away from her sister's. "But you can have her now." She smiled.

Sibel looked around. "But...I'm a nice talking tumor, you're removing me!" She sniffed.

"I'm not removing you, I'm transferring you!" Nova teased, as John leaned on Sibel's shoulder.

Sibel sniffed again, then quickly changed moods. "Okay!" She hugged John and didn't let go. "Don't you dare think of trying to remove me!"

"Wouldn't dream of it." John replied, then switched his gaze to Nova. "We're just about ready to go, McKay'll be down in a few."

Nova raised an eyebrow. "But I thought Beckett told him to stay put...?"

"Yeah, well, that wouldn't be a very Rodney thing to do." He shrugged. "We're just going on a friendly visit, anyway." As the two talked, Teyla joined the group quietly, smiling and bouncing Torren.

Sibel smiled and waved at the child, then watched as Rodney slowly walked forward. "Well, aren't you determined!"

He shot a glare at her, then turned his gaze to Nova and smiled.

Nova smiled, sweetly. "Feeling better already?" She asked.

"Enough..." Rodney hesitated as the group walked towards the jumper, which was now ready to go. They climbed in, but no one sat down yet, and since they had two more people they had to figure out the seating arrangements.

"Maybe we could..." Suggestions flew around, until something was worked out, and Nova took a seat in the very back of the jumper while John occupied the pilot's seat, with Teyla immediately behind him. Sibel sat down next to Nova, and Rodney sat down next to John. Ronon sat behind McKay, resisting poking him in the head. Sibel giggled when Rodney turned around and glared. Nova sighed and leaned against the wall, then smiled at her sister and listened to the conversation up front.

Sibel giggled when she heard something about the water, and immediately associated it with The Little Mermaid. She took out an mp3 player and turned it to 'She's in love'. She handed her sister one headphone, and the song started playing. Nova began as the first three sisters, then Sibel became the last three sisters. Everyone stared when the two of them jumped up suddenly and started singing. "Oh, wait, oh dear, good grief, it's clear! She's in Loooooove! She's is LOOOOOOOVE! Pounding heart, Ringing bells! Look, I think she's even wearing brand new shells, she's in loooove! She's in LOOOOVE! Glory be, Lord above! Got to be she's in love!"

Nova joined in again, loudly, carefully attempting to adjust her tone with just one ear, which...wasn't as easy as it would seem.

The group continued to stare, and John tried to concentrate on where he was going, but it was hard to listen to a Broadway Musical love song and drive at the same time.

The song finished off on a smooth note, the girls chorusing the last few "She's in Love"s, and then relaxed into contented giggles, not noticing stares from the men until several moments later.

Sibel noticed first, and elbowed her sister. "_I think that that was all out loud, Nova..._"

Nova glanced up at the front of the jumper. "_You know, I think you're right..._" But the confused gaze from Ronon made it even harder not to giggle uncontrollably. Sibel grabbed her sister's shoulder and hid inside it.

"What kind of music does your world call that?" Teyla asked curiously, surprised by the girl's behavior.

Sibel mumbled "Showtunes," while trying not to turn bright red.

"Show tunes?" Teyla responded, evidently not entirely understanding the description.

"The songs that the characters would sing in a movie, or a play." Nova clarified, then mumbled "Or on Broadway..."

"Hey Rodney, you want to sit back here with Nova? I don't think it's a good idea for her and I to be together at this moment..." Sibel was still hiding in her sister's coat. Nova all but glared at Sibel, as Rodney gladly switched her places.

Sibel sat down, blushing a bright crimson. She stared out into the distance, trying to ignore the obvious stares from Ronon.

Rodney gave Nova a weird look at first, then asked, while choking on a laugh "Show tunes?"

Nova hid her face in her hands. "Yes." She was embarrassed enough that she'd been heard singing at the top of her lungs, but singing at the top of her lungs to a musical meant for eight-to-eleven year old girls...

Rodney patted her leg. "It wasn't that bad, it just scared us all a little."

"Well, at least I'm glad to hear that." She mumbled, and tried to think of something to say to get everybody's minds off-topic, and hopefully stop the red traveling across her face.

Sibel seemed to tap into her sister's exact thoughts, and searched for something to say. John remained completely quiet because he was so shocked. It wasn't as bad as the time that him and Rodney walked in on the two girl's in animal suits, of course.

"So..." Nova threw her glance over at Teyla. "Let's hear a little bit more about the Athosians."

The group landed smoothly and began piling out of the jumper. Teyla was greeted by Kenaan, and Ronon was tackled by all of the little children from the village. The girls were introduced to several people, and Nova was sure she'd never remember all those names. The village was beautiful!

Sibel smiled at her sister as she saw the lush, green land. She looked up and saw only a few clouds in the sky. "Wow..."

"It's so..." Nova sighed, and let her sister's contagious smile spread to her own face. "I can see why you'd want so badly to get out here." She mumbled, leaning toward Rodney.

"Well, I'd rather be here than cooped up in the infirmary..." Rodney said, as he hesitantly greeted the Athosians, whom he still didn't remember even five of their names.

"Hah, tell me about it." She agreed. A few words about the evening's festivities could be heard as they were exchanged.

Sibel was intrigued by the luscious surroundings, but restrained from running off into nowhere. "How long are we going to be here?" She asked whomever she was standing next to, too dazed to look.

"Dunno, depends on what happens." Came Ronon's reply. The rest of the 'regular' team mingled a bit, confronting old friends and trying to remember names and acquaintances.

"I could really get to like this!" Nova said, and then began to engage in conversation with a middle-aged Athosian woman.

Sibel looked around for Nova, then finally spotted her. She never really was good at mingling, but she enjoyed the scenery.

John reappeared next to Sibel, and put his arm around her shoulders. "Anything you wanna...dunno...try out? People you want to talk to?" He encouraged.

Sibel jumped a little then looked up. "Um.. honestly? Not really, I'm comfortable just staring at people awkwardly until they get freaked out and run away."

"Well, then, we'll just stand here and stare at people awkwardly." He agreed, trying to make Sibel as 'comfortable' as possible.

Sibel once again lost her concentration. "Ohhh, look at that!" She bounded over to some small purple flowers that she saw on the ground. She stared at them extremely closely, and tried to figure out what they would be scientifically categorized as. John shrugged and smiled, then sat down on a log.

Nova approached Rodney, who was looking even less relaxed than Sibel. "What, you fight doctor's orders to come here, and then stand here awkwardly not enjoying yourself?" She nudged him with her elbow.

"Well, I... I'm not one to normally say this, but I feel weird right now... Anxious almost..." Rodney replied, restraining from looking behind him every second.

"Really?" Nova was silent for a moment, and glanced around. Then she shrugged. "Hmm...maybe it's just this." She gently patted the spot on his jacket that would correctly correspond with where a bandage should be.

Rodney felt the odd tension and slight ache so he sat down. "Maybe.."

Sibel cut a flower carefully with her sparkly silver-blue painted nails, and walked back over to Sheppard. She sat down and just stared at the flower. "It looks like...a forget-me-not!" Sibel figured out what the flower reminded her of.

"Really?" John studied the small plant, before saying "I was thinking Violet." And then, to Sibel's appalled stare, "What?!"

"Well, I'm not talking about the color! The shape. It has rounder petals and they're positioned differently than violets! You see the circular yellow spot where the pollen comes from? Violets have different shapes than that. And forget-me-nots can be purple too..." Sibel then grabbed several more that she saw from behind the log and began weaving them together.

He watched her hands work neatly and surely, and wondered where a person even learned something like that. He found himself pressed against her arm. "So, are you gonna try to tell me now that you're a botanist, too?" He asked.

Sibel giggled. "No, I used to do this all the time in PE at school," Sibel finished her work and set the crown on John's head. "See? Just arts and crafts!"

"I see." The colonel touched the flowers on his head, and smiled, trying to think of a reference to Greek mythology that he could throw out.

"What, this?" Nova put her hand in her pocket. "No, it's not a cat scratch, I um...bumped...something." She laughed. "Where would I even get scratched by a cat here?! Certainly not on Atlantis."

Sibel could feel her sister's tension rise, and watched her sister shove her hand into her pocket. "Well, looks like our secret is being tugged at." She looked around and saw some white and yellow flowers. She grabbed some more and took the crown off of John's head. She weaved in more of the flowers, cutting into the stems with her nails. "Nova, could you come here for a minute?" Sibel called, trying to rescue her sister from the 'cat-got-your-tongue' tension.

"Yes!" Nova cleared her throat, and nodded at Rodney. "Be right back." She hopped over to where her sister and the colonel sat. "Sibel?"

"Do you want me to make you a crown too?" Sibel asked, coming up with the easiest explanation to calling her sister.

"Ooh, would you?!" Nova sat down on the ground near Sibel's legs.

"What color? Or if you can somehow find some more little flowers..." Sibel trailed off as she became enveloped in the crown-weaving again.

"Any color's fine." Nova replied, sighing and leaning back against the log. She lowered her voice, and said, in a dramatic whisper "He's on to us."

"He's been on to you for a while." John mumbled. "He wanted to know why the threads were coming out of my new pair of pants, and why you had scratches on your arms."

Nova pushed up her sleeves a little bit, and examined her arms. "Hmm, they weren't that noticeable to me..."

Sibel looked at her sister's arms as well. "I think...blue." She finished the first crown, and sat it back upon John's head. Then she began to weave a new one. "Maybe we should tell him. You told me that he liked cats, right?"

"True..." Nova replied. "But what's he gonna say if he finds out we were keeping it secret all this time?"

"If who finds out you were keeping what secret?" McKay had slipped over to the group, previously unnoticed.

Sibel stayed quiet and concentrated. "McKay, what would you do if you were kidnapped by a stalker?"

A funny look crossed his face. "Uhm..." He shrugged, hands in his pockets. "That's a good question...why?"

"I don't know, I was just curious." Sibel finished, then sat the blue flower crown on her sister's head. Rodney realized that John had a flower crown upon his head as well and gave him a funny look.

"Oh, thanks sis!" Nova said, patting her own head. She looked around, and then pulled Rodney down onto the ground next to her. "Okay, we probably should have said something before, but..." She glanced at John and Sibel, lowered her voice almost to inaudible, and said "Sibel and I sneaked a pair of kittens onto Atlantis and they've been staying in our quarters ever since."

Rodney was astonished and silent. Sibel started crafting another crown of yellow flowers. "Well...uh..." He couldn't figure out how to react.

Nova bit her lip, and looked up at him pleadingly. "Just, please don't say anything! We've already had them here for two weeks, and nobody's found out, and yes, that was a cat scratch."

"Well, as long as I get to visit them...It's not like they're harming anyone. Well except you three..." Rodney sighed

"YES! Thank you!" Nova threw her arms around his neck in a hug, smiling.

John cocked his head to the side, and continued watching Sibel work on her flower projects.

Sibel finished the yellow crown and placed it on Rodney's head. "You're not allowed to take it off." She drifted into random thoughts. "I wonder if I could make handcuffs..."

"Too fragile, they'd never withstand any kind of resistance." Nova said, playing with a piece of grass she'd plucked up. "If you could find some stringy greenery off a tree or something, that might do it."

Rodney looked at the two with a look that would have said 'And what do you two do with this kind of knowledge?' if it could speak.

Nova smirked back at him, wordlessly. "Or maybe just plain old rope. You know, that's always done the trick in the past."

Sibel began giggling uncontrollably and had to hide her face for several moments. She stood up. "I am going to go look for more flowers!"

"Haha, good luck with that!" Nova called after her sister, as John got up mumbling something about joining her.

Sibel began to walk off and felt John's presence take a place next to her side. She looked at him and smiled, then continued to walk.

"So you seriously snuck kittens here?" Rodney asked, curiously. "I've been trying to figure out a way to do that...but none of my plans worked out."

"Well, I didn't do it, Sibella did it." Nova said, even still trying to figure out how that had happened. "I told you the other night, she has...secret ninja powers. I know she's my sister, and we have this telepathic sister-like connection, but...I still don't know how most of her ninja powers work."

"Wow... That's kind of odd..." Rodney said, trailing off. He felt the crown on his head. "Why did she...?"

"I have no idea." Nova replied. "But really, don't take it off, she will see you, and she will not be a happy camper." She giggled. "Anyway, it doesn't look bad." She used both hands to readjust his decoration, and then smiled.

Rodney gave her a funny look, then sighed.

Sibel looked around the bushes trying to find a new flower to make a crown out of. She didn't see any red flowers, and that was the color flowers that she liked to use most. She sighed, and leaned against a tree to take a break.

"Wish I could help," John sighed, crossing his arms. "But I really don't have an eye for...girly things." He said 'girly' like it was a word from another language that he didn't quite understand.

Sibel giggled then walked over to him. "That's alright. Flowers from other planets can be hard to spot sometimes." Sibel remembered an old mission report. "I don't trust you to touch strange things anyways!"

John looked like he wanted to protest, but instead just closed his mouth and nodded. "Fair enough."

Sibel laughed then gave him a hug. "You have to be careful now that you have a lioness to protect." Sibel wanted to slap herself after she said it, but she restrained. She figured that since her nickname had always been the lioness, she could get away with it.

"Oh, yes." John replied, nodding, and, pulling her tighter into the embrace, seemed completely oblivious to what she'd just given away. "Wouldn't want her to be unprotected."

Sibel felt warm and cozy, inside and out. She smiled and continued to hug him. "We should probably get back, Rodney might have taken off his crown." She didn't actually want to go back, but she didn't want to seem clingy.

"He might have." John whispered, reluctantly letting Sibel out of his grip.

Sibel began to take a step, then turned around to face him again. "Have you been getting a weird ominous feeling lately?" She looked straight into his eyes to get the most serious answer out of him.

He frowned. "Yeah, but that tends to happen every time I start to feel relaxed. Why?"

"Then it's not just me, it's you....and Nova...and I think that Rodney's feeling it too." Sibel walked up even closer to John, fearing what the unknown creature had said to them.

"Maybe it had something to do with whatever we ate before we came." He suggested, not taking into account the fact that they hadn't even eaten the same things as each other that day.

Sibel turned her attention to the ground, "I'm just worried...I learned to listen to my feelings because of something that happened and..." Sibel looked back up, "Just, be careful...in any situation..."

"Well, where we are, I don't really see any immediate threat, but I'll be careful." He replied, half-serious.

"Thank you," Sibel regretted the words as she heard a crack. She turned around, but didn't see anything. "We need to get back!"

"Agreed." John murmured, grabbing at Sibel's hand and picking up the pace a little bit, only for them both to be pricked several moments later by a brisk pain from somewhere behind them, conscious only for a few seconds afterward, and then enveloped in blackness.

Rodney looked around and felt the anxiousness again. "I wonder where Sibel and John are." Teyla looked around, then up, and screamed "Wraith!" The next moment, a wraith dart flew over the village. A beam of light streaked across Nova's vision, and the next moment, McKay was gone. Confused, shocked, and disoriented upon the mysterious disappearance of Rodney and the sudden chaos that spread over the small Athosian village, the first thought that jumped into Nova's mind was "Sibel!" She shouted, and started running toward the last place that she'd seen her sister and the colonel headed.

Sibel opened her eyes, and colors started changing. She felt prickling in her entire body but stood up the moment she got used to it. She looked around, and remembered the last thing that she saw. She looked around, then heard her sister in her mind. "_Nova! John's gone! I'm not sure what happened...I think we were attacked by something!_"

"_I'm coming to find you! Rodney's gone too, Teyla shouted 'wraith', I can only assume..._" "Sibel!" Nova came within sight of Sibel, in a crazed panic.

Sibel's eyes were now entirely cat-like. "What do we do?!"

Nova put both hands over her face, and moaned in frustration. "I don't even know what happened!" She was more than ruffled, and her hair looked wild. An undomesticated animal instinct flashed behind her own eyes, and she let out a throaty, irritated growl. "I don't know WHAT to do!"

Sibel breathed deeply. "We need to get back to Atlantis and figure out what they do when that kind of thing happens." She tried to remain as calm as possible in the situation as she held her sister.

"How are we gonna get back?" Nova asked, suddenly. "John and Rodney were the only two who could fly the jumper!"

"We can at least send a call to Atlantis and tell them what happened, then they can send two pilots in another jumper and get us all back," Sibel said grabbing her sister's hand and running back to the village.

They arrived to find a group of confused villagers; nobody could figure out why the wraith had simply come and gone. Nobody but Teyla and Ronon even knew that anyone had disappeared.

Nova made her way toward the jumper, flicking her headset on, and talking to Teyla. "Apparently Colonel Sheppard is gone, too." She updated.

Sibel stopped for a second "That's it, I'm not holding back, I don't care if someone sees me" She burst off in incredible speed towards the jumper, reached it before her sister did, and went inside, ready to contact Atlantis when her sister got there.

They made arrangements, and the rest of the team was back in Atlantis within the hour. Nova and Sibel began throwing explanations at Colonel Carter, overwhelming the poor woman almost entirely.

Sibel took a deep breath. "They ambushed John and I...They only took John! Why didn't they take me?! And they didn't even cull anyone! All they took was Rodney!" Sibel rubbed her head as she began pacing.

Nova put her head on the wall. "I knew something bad was going to happen. I knew it was coming, and I ignored the feeling, stupidly, like I always do." She turned to Sam, desperation flooding her expression. "Rodney just got out of the infirmary! He's not entirely healthy, he shouldn't even have been away from here!"

Sam rubbed her head, and stood up. "At the moment, we can't do much. We don't know what hive it was that took them, or why. We have to stay calm and try to approach this from a different position than usual." Sam walked into the gate room, "Zelenka...I'm not even sure what to ask you to do."

Zelenka nodded, "I'll try to contact other planets and see if anyone has anything. They wraith have remained dormant for a while, so they haven't left many tracks."

"But we'll think of a way to find them!" Nova interjected. "Right?"

"We'll figure out something!" Sam said, staying as positive about the situation as possible. Sibel searched through her memory, trying to figure out a way to track them down. "Wait, ask Todd!" She ran over to Zelenka. "Try to contact Todd and see if he can find anything out. It's the only way that we can track them at the moment."

Nova joined her sister at the control panel. The thought of a wraith helping them counteract a wraith attack didn't exactly make her feel bright, but it seemed, at the moment, it could be their only chance.

Sibel stared as Zelenka left a message for Todd to pick up.

"We just have to wait until he contacts us." He muttered.

Sibel breathed out, then stretched. "Well, we just have stay calm, cool and collected, I suppose."

Nova appeared anything but 'calm, cool, and collected', but somehow managed to stay on her feet. "Um, I'm going to get a glass of water." She moaned, and walked hastily out of the gate room.

Sibel looked around for a second. "I'm going with her!" Then she rushed after her sister. She caught up, but they both stayed silent; they couldn't figure out what to make of the situation that they were in.

Nova eventually located a cup and some cold water, and her and her sister sat down. She rested her head on the table, letting the cool metal relax her. "Now what?"

"Honestly, I have no idea." Sibel said, as she stared into her cup. "I guess, all we really can do is wait for Todd."

"I don't want to _wait!_" Nova groaned, and sat up to look at her sister. "I want to do something, I want--Sibel why did they just take those two? Why not more people, why not us?!" She thrust her fists angrily upon the table, then set her hands gently in her lap when she realized that she'd left dents.

Sibel felt entirely guilty about the situation, and became angry along with her sister. Her neck flared up, and she jumped. She put water on her hand and touched it to the skin. A sizzle was heard. "This must be the thing that that creature was talking about, Nova!"

"How so?" Nova asked, a little bit calmer than before.

"The creature, he said that our choice would either save or destroy their lives! Maybe," Sibel thought about the sting on her neck, and the eyes of the creature. "Maybe we need to use these powers to save them!"

"He said 'they would live'." Nova's eyes widened. "Maybe you're right! It wasn't a threat after all..."

Sibel looked around. "Wait," She flounced back into her seat. "How are we going to get up there?!"

"Todd, like you said!" Nova replied. "We just have to get _him_ to get _us_ on to the ship that they were--" She figured out the problem. "But which hive...?"

Sibel smacked her head against the table and stayed there, afraid that just the reverberating metallic sound alone had dented the walls. "This is too complicated for my hopeless romantic, in-love heart to figure out."

Nova heaved a great sigh, in agreement with her sister. "I wonder if human life signs read differently than wraith life signs." She jested.

"They probably do...but every hive ship has humans on them somewhere... like a pantry of them." Sibel said, as she sat up and rubbed her head where a red mark was left.

"Ew." Nova shuddered, thinking deeply about what her sister had just said, and trying to push the thought from her mind.

"Wait...what do we tell Colonel Carter?" Sibel asked, realizing what a ridiculous argument about their amazing super-zoanthrope powers would be.

Nova was quiet for a very long moment. "I...don't...know." She finally said, almost quizzically. "We have...a feeling? Gah, that's so stupid!"

"It's not like that creature could back up our story either." Sibel tried to think through every possible scenario. "Well, if we can simply convince Colonel Carter that a smaller team would be fine, like...you, Teyla, Ronon, and I, maybe we can pull it off. I don't think that Ronon would care much, he was already suspicious of our fighting abilities before we became what we are. Teyla, she's normally understanding. She had trouble when she found out that she had wraith DNA, so maybe it will be easy to tell her!"

"That...could work!" Nova finally agreed, moments before hearing her and her sister's names being paged to the gate room over the loud speaker.

Sibel jumped up and ran toward the gate room. She ran up the stairs and stopped. "What's going on?!"

"We've made contact." Sam informed Sibel, as Nova took a place behind her. "I thought you may want to be here."

"Yes!" Nova agreed.

"Thank goodness. I expected it to take longer!" Sibel was relieved that it didn't. She waited as a creature appeared on the screen, and nearly jumped at first as she saw the white hair and greenish skin. Then, she realized that it looked almost like an evil elf from a video game...one of the sexy ones. "_I expected it to be ugly..._" She thought to her sister.

"_It's not?_" Nova returned, raising an eyebrow. She was intrigued, however, when the creature began engaging in dialog.

"You left an odd message for me. What is this I hear about some of your people being captured?" Todd asked, in his normal monotone voice.

"Colonel Sheppard and Doctor McKay were captured. No one else." Carter replied, used to Todd's way of being polite.

"Yeah, we were kind of at a loss as to why, and also 'where' wouldn't be a bad thing to know." Nova put in, boldly.

Todd gave her an odd look.

"This is Dr. Sudenkorento. She's been with us for a few weeks now but has grown close to Sheppard, McKay and the rest of their team. And this is Sibella Callimaeve, Nova's sister also in the same position in Sheppard's team." Carter explained.

Todd nodded in almost approval. "Well, I suppose I could try and find information, but I will have to be careful. The hives are still on edge with each other, and I'm not sure what they might do if they found out that I was helping you."

"They'd blow you out of the sky!" Sibel blurted out. "Sorry...you were dancing around the inevitable too much."

Todd nodded, and Nova could only assume it was in agreement.

"We can count on you, then?" Sam asked, throwing her most intense Colonel Carter stare at the wraith through the live stream.

"Yes. John and I have what you humans would call...a love/hate relationship, and we each have our own way of showing that we appreciate each others efforts." Todd replied. "I will contact you if I discover anything." The transmission was cut, and Sibel smiled. She already liked Todd, even though he was a creature whom every human in this galaxy feared.

Nova sighed. "Well, that's done, at least." She bit her lip, nervously. "I hope he doesn't take too long, we don't know what kind of time frame Colonel Sheppard and Dr. McKay have." She wanted to add 'if they're even still alive', but was afraid of breaking down her mental wall.

Sibel stared for a moment. "He'll find something, I'm sure of it! Just contact us on the loudspeaker if you hear back from him!" She grabbed her sister by the arm and started walking away.

Nova sighed, feeling completely helpless trapped on the ground, wishing more than anything to sink her wrath into an enemy wraith. She clenched and unclenched her fists several times, following Sibel closely.

Sibel didn't hear, but she felt her sister's thoughts. "_If we do get the chance, it's not just going to be my wrath that's sinked into them. It's going to be my teeth and my claws._"

"_Amen to that._" Nova agreed.


	20. Chapter 20

Sibel and Nova sat in their bedroom, waiting silently. Sibel played with her hair, as Nova twiddled with a pencil. Several hours had passed since they had last spoken to Todd. "How long does he expect us to wait?" Sibel asked out loud.

Nova threw her pencil against the door. "That, is an excellent question, dear sister." Nova replied, impatience weighing heavily upon her countenance. "And we just get to sit here," She flopped backward onto Sibel's bed. "Waiting to find out whether or not they're going to live. It's all just wonderful."

"I hate feeling helpless too," Sibel laid back next to her sister. The kittens jumped up and crawled over the two girl's stomachs. "But they'll be alright. I know it."

"They had better be." Nova mumbled in bitter agreement.

Rodney woke up to the familiar tingling of having been stuck in a wraith dart. He moaned, rubbing rubbed his head and looking around. He saw John, still unconscious on the floor, and the familiar setting of a wraith hive holding cell. "Wonderful." He muttered to himself.

John stirred a few minutes later, groaned, and held his head in his hands. "What..." He sat up. "What happened?"

"Well, apparently we got captured...again. Nova?" Rodney looked around, expecting Nova to be with him since they were together at the time, but he saw no one except John.

The colonel glanced around as well. "I don't think any one else is here," He speculated, feeling a bit confused. "The question is: why?"

Rodney looked around. "An odd thought just occurred to me: why don't wraith feed on you when you're unconscious?" The thought came to him, and then he realized what John said. "Where are the girls? Why didn't they take them too?"

John rubbed his head, trying to make the pain stop. "Good question, and good question." He stood up, slowly at first, steadying himself. Then he got a good look around, and started feeling along the front barrier of the cell. "Maybe we were the only ones they could take." It seemed extremely unlikely, but Sheppard himself longed for an explanation.

"Well, they beamed me into their dart pretty darn quickly, why wouldn't they have grabbed Nova, too? She was right next to me!" Another thought ran through Rodney's head. "How did they get you?"

"I don't know. I think..." John had a vague memory of stinging pain. "I think they sent a ground troop." He mumbled. "I guess the trees were too thick where I was to beam me up, or something."

"But weren't you with Sibel?" Rodney asked. "Well, at least they're safe if they aren't here, but why?" They heard a patrol coming closer.

Sheppard lowered his voice to a hoarse whisper. "I don't know, but I've got a bad feeling about it."

The patrol appeared at the web-like door, and a wraith commander appeared behind them and opened it. He growled as he looked at the two. An insect-like smirk ran across his face. "I hope that you two are comfortable. You'll be here for a while."

"Yeah, about that," John started. "Why are we here, exactly?"

"You'll find out in due time. For the moment, don't think about escaping." The wraith walked back out and the door rearranged itself. He silently nodded to the guards, and instead of following him back, they stayed where they were. "Well...that's a pleasant site to have at your door." Rodney said, sarcastically. He walked over to the wall and leaned against it.

"This is too weird." Sheppard mumbled, racking his brain for ideas. He wasn't used to having actual guards right outside the door, so he figured whatever the wraith wanted him and McKay for, it must be pretty important.

Rodney always did break under pressure. "Well, this is fabulous, isn't it! We have no idea if the rest of the team are okay, and we're probably going to die before we tell the girls entirely how we feel!"

"Rodney, just calm down." John snapped. "We're gonna be fine. We always get out alive, and I don't plan on changing my habits. Got it? Now figure out a way out of here."

"How can I?! There are two wraith standing at the door listening to everything we say! And anyway, they told us not to even think about escaping, and I think that for now, we should do just that!" Rodney snapped back.

The colonel was used to Rodney's behavior, but that seemed quite negative even for McKay. He raised his eyebrows, and leaned against the wall. "Okay, fine. Let's just stick around and wait until dinner. Great plan."

Rodney's eyes opened wide. "Fine!" He straightened, and paced, trying to think of anything that he could.

_Knock knock knock!_

"Door!" Nova shouted, and jumped down off of her bunk. The doors slid open to reveal Colonel Carter, and she looked flustered.

"We found them." She said. Nova glanced at her sister, anxiously.

Sibel jumped up and ran over. "Good thing or bad thing?"

"We're not sure yet." Sam replied, as the three made their way toward the gate room. "As far as we can tell, they're fine. Perfectly alive. But," She stopped walking and faced the girls. "They're under very heavy guard. Whatever the wraith want from us, they want it bad."

"Atlantis." Nova breathed.

"Beg pardon?" Carter said.

"The dart!" Nova replied. "Dr. McKay said that he recognized a few of the words in the log on the dart. Something about destroying Atlantis, and the other one was 'capture'."

Carter's eyes opened wide. "And he couldn't read anything else?"

Sibel nodded solemnly. "McKay and Sheppard. The two heroes of Atlantis, foiling the wraith's plans many times. Figures..."

Nova heaved a sigh. "Well..." She glanced around the gate room. "I know it's not really my place, but would it be alright if Sibel and I assembled a small team, and took them to--" She stopped talking when she realized Sam was staring at her like she'd gone mad. "Look, I now it sounds...insane, but I very strongly believe that this is the right thing to do." Her eyes flashed.

"Actually, she's right. A big team, will make too big of a fuss. Nova and I are trained as martial artists to be silent and sneaky. We can get in and out of there before they even realize that Sheppard and McKay are gone!" Sibel tried to back up the argument.

Sam looked down for a moment, pondering. "Alright, but we'll have another jumper cloaked in case you need back up. Todd will take you to the other hive ship on trading duties and, hopefully, the jumper will have you in and out of there silently and safely."

"Thank you!" Nova all but shouted. She grabbed her sister, and ran off to find Ronon and Teyla.

"That went smoothly, thank goodness!" Sibel and her sister ran around, looking. They found Ronon and Teyla in the mess hall. "We need you two!" Sibel blurted out from across the room.

"What for?" Ronon asked.

"Todd's gonna take us to where John and Rodney are, and Colonel Carter wants us to take a small team on to the hive."

"Then we musn't waste time." Teyla agreed, standing up. The group, that now consisted of four, left the mess hall to prepare themselves.

"Think of anything yet?" Sheppard asked from his seat across the cell from McKay, staring up at the ceiling, boredly.

"Every single plan ends in us being captured again, or fed on, or falling into some ominous black hole. Nope!" Rodney replied, as he finally sat down and stopped pacing.

"Wow, black hole, really?" John asked, intrigued and slightly curious as to how the scientist had come to that conclusion. "Something will go right. Always does." He didn't seem the least bit worried, despite Rodney's flustered appearance.

"How do you know?" Rodney gave him a look, and they heard more footsteps approaching. Two new guards took the two other guards places.

"...Because." Sheppard reasoned, crossing his arms and shifting his gaze to McKay. "That's how."

Rodney stared at the ceiling, "Atlantis will figure something out, unless Zelenka tries to get revenge on me. Then we're doomed."

"He wouldn't do that." John said, then, in jest "I think."

Rodney glared, then turned back to his spot on the ceiling, "Okay, Ronon will find us. He always does, right?" The commander wraith came out of nowhere, and stepped through the door. "The queen would like to see you." The guards stepped in and grabbed the two men, pushing them towards the 'royal chamber' of sorts.

"Wonderful. I love the queen." John stated, sarcastically, and they entered the room.

Rodney shook, as they were pushed into a large room. A queen wraith came out of the shadows silently. She walked up to the two and did one of those rituals that wraith queens seemed to have with Colonel Sheppard. "Kneel." Instead though, John didn't go down alone, Rodney went with him. She was a more powerful queen than many of the ones that they had encountered.

A look of disbelief mixed with anger crossed Colonel Sheppard's face. "What do you want with us?" He asked, wanting only to get straight to the point.

To wraith eyes, she would probably be considered beautiful. Her curly purple hair flowed around her face like she was in the water. "Well, you're the mighty Colonel John Sheppard and Doctor Rodney McKay. I thought that it was time that I should meet you both," The wraith queen smiled, wryly.

"Yep, that's us." John smiled in mock pride. "The mighty warriors."

"How exactly is it that that you have been able to escape so many times from other queen's grasps?" The queen started walking around a little bit. "Of course, I'm smarter than they were. I will not underestimate your power."

"Ah, y'know, a combination of luck and brilliance, that kind of thing." He paused. "Or maybe us humans are just a lot stronger than you think."

She turned around. "Oh, I know exactly how strong humans are," She smiled. "And even if I can't get any information out of you, keeping you here should be enough." She gestured to the guards. They grabbed the men by the arms and hauled them off the ground again.

"Enough for what?" Rodney managed to shout, finally finding his courage and struggling against the guards as best he could.

"Oh, I'm sure that you'll hear about it when Atlantis is destroyed." The guards hauled them off, as the queen smirked in her victorious glory.

Rodney looked at John as they were walking. "Do you think that they're going to do what I think that they're going to do?" Rodney asked him, worried so much he was making himself sick.

"I rarely think they're going to do what you think they're going to do, Rodney." John answered in a hushed tone. "Why? What do you think they're going to do?"

"Think about it! They have the two main key figures of Atlantis! Without you to use the chair, and without me to figure out something else...they could easily pull something off!" Rodney said, as he was pushed into the cell once again.

Sheppard thought about it for a moment. "You know, you could be right." He murmured, and then slammed his fists into the cell wall in frustration.

"Atlantis will figure out something right?! And now with Sibel and Nova, who knows what they could pull off too!"

At this, the colonel had to laugh. "You never know with those two."

They'd been in the air for at least an hour now, and each moment Nova felt more and more uncomfortable with the presence of the wraith, Todd, only a few feet away. "Are we almost there?"

Sibel simply stared at Todd the entire time, intrigued. "We are almost there, now you must remember that we are only exchanging some weapons with them. Other than that, you get on, and I leave. The jumper is waiting above the hive now, cloaked, for when you're ready." Todd stared back at Sibel, wondering what exactly was wrong with her.

"So we've only got a few minutes to get on, got it." Nova's nervousness about the mission itself had completely subsided only minutes after she'd boarded the small ship. Adrenaline pumped through her veins, and made her feel peculiarly strong, energetic, and capable.

Through her study of mythology, Sibel found very few things that actually made her scared or disgusted. "Why is it exactly that you're the considered the bad guy?" She asked Todd, bluntly.

He stared for a second, and blinked a couple times. "We feed on humans..."

"So do I! But that's only when I'm reeeally hungry." Sibel remembered how she bit nearly everyone she became friends with. She took her spot next to her sister.

Todd once again tossed a confused, almost worried, look back at the young girl. After a few more moments, he said "We are here." And the craft could be felt slowing down.

"You ready?" Nova whispered to Sibel.

"Entirely. Well, kind of...I'm still worried about the whole...well you know." Sibel glanced around and saw the enormous spaceship they were approaching.

"It'll be cake." Nova said. "Remember what..._he_ told us? Obviously he knows way more about our futures than we do, and he said that this was in order for Colonel Sheppard and Dr. McKay to live." Her words were barely audible.

"True...OH MY GOSH! THAT LOOKS SO AWESOME!" Sibel blurted out. Everyone in the room stared at her. She pulled her excitement back in, and stood silently until they were done prepping.

Once they'd sneaked aboard the hive ship, and Todd's vessel was out of sight, Nova consulted Teyla and Ronon as to the whereabouts of the holding cells, and the four began to make their way carefully and quietly around.

Sibel looked around. "Okay, according to other wraith hive schematics, this one seems bigger...a LOT bigger!" She stopped. "That also would most likely mean that they have two sides of the ship exactly the same...which would mean that there are two holding cell locations. We should probably split up!"

"Agreed." Teyla said. "Ronon and I will search the opposite end of the hive."

"Then Sibel and I will take this one," Nova put in, "And if anything happens, we let the other party know." She tapped her headset.

Sibel nodded, and Teyla and Ronon went off. "Okay," She breathed out. "Ready to use our awesome super-power ninja skills?"

"Whatever you want to call them." Nova mumbled, cracking her neck.

"Okay, let's head to the holding cell first. If we encounter trouble, concentrate all of your anger towards the wraith and we'll see what happens," Sibel took out her fighting gloves, not really knowing how they would come in handy, but they made her feel secure anyways.

"Got it." Nova replied, and began at a brisk jog in the general location of the holding cells.

"Would you stop that?" John groaned, tiring once again at Rodney's negativism.

"Remember who you're talking to!" Rodney pointed, as he looked around nervously.

"Like I could forget if I wanted." Sheppard retorted, leaning his head back against the wall.

Rodney leaned back against the wall, and then...he thought that he heard someone whisper something. He looked over at Sheppard who had the same look on his face.

"What's that?" John asked, looking skeptically at McKay, as if to ask why he was whispering.

"Well, I heard someone say something..." Rodney said, expecting John to repeat what he thought that he had said.

Suddenly, they heard a slap. "I told you it was the next one!" Rodney could have sworn he recognized the voice.

Then a second voice replied. "Fine, you were right and I was wrong! You don't have to hit so hard!"

"Well, if I didn't hit so hard, we would get even more lost!" Sibel backed up, and Rodney and John saw them. She turned. "DUDE THERE YOU ARE! We've been lost for like...half an hour now..."

Nova's greeting was a tad bit more sympathetic. "John, Rodney! Are you okay?" Colonel Sheppard noticed for the first time that there were no guards about.

Sibel looked at McKay. "How do we open it? Or do I have to chew through it like taffy...?" "That little panel over there!" Rodney pointed, as Sibel walked over. She saw small glowing buttons. "What do I do?!"

Nova turned around with her hands on her hips. She walked over then punched the panel. The door came open, and the guys were let free. "That was impressive." She murmured, grabbing both men by the arms. "Let's go!" She threw a glance at her sister, and jerked her head in a summoning fashion.

"I would hug you, but we need to get out of here!" Sibel said, as they jogged through the purple tunnels. "We need to meet up with Ronon and Teyla at the rendezvous point, then get back to the dart bay."

John cast Rodney his patented "I toldja so" look, as they made their way back to the landing bay.

Suddenly, the wraith queen appeared in the entrance to one of the passageways, and flung Nova across the hallway. John and Rodney looked both surprised and horrified, as Nova shook herself out of a daze. Her eyes burned, and actually changed color.

"So, you're the hot shot around here?" She asked, meeting the challenging gaze of the queen.

Sibel's eyes opened wide. "Guys, hide behind me. You really don't want to know what's going to happen."

The wraith queen took a step forward. "You'll never leave this ship you know. Don't you understand? This will be the end of Atlantis and you don't have enough power to take me on as a normal human!"

"You don't quite understand." Nova shot back, as her fingernails lengthened into claws, and her skin slowly took on a white hue, becoming furry. She turned around and ran at a surprising speed up the wall of the hive, and then launched herself across the hallway at the horrified queen.

Sibel heard the wraith queen scream in pain. "Uh oh, looks like she's calling in the cavalry!" She heard footsteps. "Nova, hurry it up!" She took off her vest.

"Um, don't you need that?" Rodney asked, slightly confused by the girls, and somewhat terrified by the new form that Nova had taken on.

"Nope!" Sibel looked around and figured out where the sound was coming from; she handed her gun to John. She bolted towards the sound and disappeared for several moments. All that was heard was the wraith queen and Nova snarling as they fought each other, and the sound of stunning blasts hitting walls.

Moments later, the queen fell silent, and Nova reappeared looking like Nova once again. Well, Nova with wild hair and a bizarre colored blood on her hands and face. She was still snarling. "Teach her to interfere with me rescuing my friends."

Rodney gave her a puzzled and frightened look. "What...um, how?"

She realized what just happened, and wiped her mouth off with her arm. "Um, it's actually a very long story, I'll have to explain it--" A blast hit the wall behind them, and instinctively John and Rodney ducked, while Nova stumbled out of the way, barely avoiding the fire.

Suddenly, another cat creature flew through the air backwards and landed on her feet. The blazing red hair could alert anyone as to whom it was. "_We need to get out of here, now! There are a lot more than we thought!_" Sibel told her sister as she avoided another blast.

"Then let's go!" Nova said aloud, grabbing John and Rodney and running alongside Sibel. They bumped into Ronon and Teyla, who looked horrified and confused upon seeing Sibel. "There's no time to explain, call the jumper down!" Nova shouted, more shots coming from behind them.

Sibel turned around. "I will be right back." She extended her claws and dug them into the walls. She climbed onto the ceiling, and ran on all fours towards the blasts. A few seconds later, the blasts stopped firing, and Sibel jumped back down from the ceiling looking completely normal, excluding the blood on her hands.

"Good work, sis." Nova said, and a puddle jumper suddenly uncloaked in the landing bay. "Alright, let's go before more show up!"

"Agreed!" The group got into the jumper quickly, and they watched as the pilot who was controlling the jumper took off.

Breathing heavily and drenched in sweat, Nova leaned against the side of the jumper, her adrenal glands finally taking a break.

"Well...that was...different?" Sibel said, as the entire group stared at her sister and her. She started fiddling with her hair when she saw that 'what just happened?' look coming from John.

Nova sighed. "We may as well tell them now, Sibel." She said. "They've already seen it, and they deserve to know."

"He hasn't!" Sibel pointed at the pilot.

He heard her comment. "Well fine!" He closed the doors to the back, and the group was all alone.

She looked at her sister. "Do you want to start it or end it?"

"I was unconscious during most of the first half." Nova mumbled, looking defeated. She grabbed an alcohol pad out of her torn tactical vest and started wiping the blood off of her face and hands.

"Great." Sibel replied, then clapped her hands together. "Okay. Well, fiiiirst, we went to the planet with the blood stone. Now, we ALL felt that something dark was dwelling in the forest. Well, when we got separated when the iratus bugs swarmed, something happened to Nova and I. A creature came along, and it had the same eyes that I had seen in the forest when we first visited. It started speaking to us offering us a 'gift'."

"And you accepted?" Rodney asked skeptically.

"We didn't WANT to!" Sibel snapped back. "We thought that us...not with our lives, but with yours. It said that your lives would depend on our decision, and of course, we thought of it as threatening you two. Turns out, it was a warning instead." Sibel looked at Nova, then sat down, thinking that she had explained enough.

"When we woke up, we didn't feel any different." Nova began her half. "You two," She gestured to Sheppard and McKay. "Found us right near the blood stone. We all went home and pretended it was a bad dream. Until Sibel and I discovered that we were actually able to communicate telepathically. A few days later, Sibel had an involuntary transformation, and a few days after that, so did I. After that, we started noticing signs of inhuman strength and abilities. We could climb higher, run faster, and fight better than anyone else." She thought for a second. "Not that we weren't both exceptional fighters before that..."

"And yes, we did throw the huge tree near the village. We did NOT expect it to go that far!" Sibel added as she sat down.

"The tree that fell from the sky?" John asked, utter shock on his face.

Nova nodded. "And now, we have no idea whether this was permanent, or just meant to last until we could save Atlantis."

Sibel bit her lip. "If it is, you have every permission to smack us!"

Rodney gave Nova a funny look. "Is this all real?"

Nova nodded again, solemnly. "I'm afraid so." She bit her lip, beginning to melt down from the sudden flood of emotions.

Sibel scooted closer to her sister, trying not to let pain envelope her and start crying in front of everyone. "Would you have believed us if we told you from the start? Even in the scans nothing showed up."

"I still have a hard time believing it." John admitted, as Nova grasped her sister's hand.

Sibel thought to her sister "_Well when I tell you about why I kissed you at first, maybe you will..._" "How could you not? You saw everything. This is entirely what we've been hiding. All of these weird, occurrences, everything!" She continued, even though she kind of felt like she didn't want them to believe.

Nova felt her neck, and pushed her hair back, then turned her head to the side. "See that?"

Rodney glanced across the aisle at her. "You never told me you had a tattoo!"

"She doesn't! It's where we were bitten. I lied about mine. You believed it, since I have another one already." Sibel stated.

"We hid it with make up." Nova said, staring at the floor. After a few moments of awkward silence, she decided to say something a little out-of-the-ordinary. "Anyway, that's not what I expected humanoid space aliens to look like!"

"_Everyone's looking at us funny...except Ronon, he always has that look on his face._" Sibel thought to her sister, then began. "Well... I expected them to be... More Gorgon-like. Like tentacles for hands and stuff."

"Not me." Nova said, staring at a wall.

"Oh, and what did you expect?" Rodney asked, still trying to wrap his mind around what had happened.

Nova was quiet for a very long moment, before she said "Leonard Nimoy." And John shot her a 'tell ONE MORE Star Trek joke...' look.

Sibel looked down because she saw the look that John gave Nova. "We would have told you, but 1: you wouldn't have believed us. 2: We didn't even know what was happening to us, even after our first transformations!" Sibel wasn't sure how she felt about the way that everyone was treating them.

"We're still hoping it's temporary." Nova said, quietly. "It is possible. Not very logical, but..." She finally stopped talking as John's glare grew more intense.

"_Are we there yet?_" Sibel thought to her sister nervously, as she restrained from looking at John. She felt the burning of his gaze again.

"I don't know." Nova responded, not bothering to think it. She didn't try to hide the fact that she was exhausted beyond anything she'd ever felt, coupled with the fact that she wanted to hide in a dark corner and cry.

Sibel wasn't sure what to say next. She felt like either blowing up at the team, or throwing herself out of the jumper into space. It wasn't entirely their fault, though. Rodney and John were safe, and if they didn't have those powers, they would, in the best scenario, be dead at this moment. Nova's lip quivered, and she bit it, stubbornly, closing her eyes and forcing back tears. Several more moments of silence passed. Luckily, they arrived at Atlantis a few moments afterwards. Everyone got out of the jumper, silently, and stood there for a moment. They all stared at each other.

"I can't take this any more, say something!" Nova blurted, in a shaky voice. She stared despairingly at the men, her eyes watering. Sam joined the scene like she was about to say something, but must have sense the tension in the air, because she remained silent.

Rodney stared for a moment. "I'm...sure we can figure this all out?"

Sibel continued to stare at the ground.

"It's good to have you back, are you all alright?" Colonel Carter asked, hesitently.

"No..." Sibel mumbled.

Without another word, Nova spun around and left, speeding up to a sprint about halfway out of the embarkation room, and moments later faint whimpering could be heard from the hallway, and then all evidence of Nova's existence vanished into the next set of corridors. John didn't remove his eyes from Sibel for a moment, trying to figure out what he thought about this, and piecing together the last few weeks, suddenly understanding.

Colonel Sam patted Rodney and John on the backs, then left, seeing the tension and not wanting to make it worse. Rodney looked around for a moment, then decided to chase after Nova. He felt bad about her feeling so terrible about all this.

"So...you have a few things to explain." John finally said, taking a few steps closer to Sibel.

"Well, I was going to wait about...three more days to tell you, but change of plans," She glared at the floor, waiting for it to burst into flames. "Okay, yes, I am a werelioness. Yes, the first time I kissed you was because of the odd hormones that the poison was pumping through me. No, it wasn't because of the hormones that I let you kiss me a second time. The time you found me in my bedroom, yes, I was going through bad spasms because it was right after my first transformation. I didn't know how you would feel about it, so I was waiting to tell you." Sibel finally looked up.

"I see." John said, furrowing his brow and still not removing his eyes from her face.

"Can't you say something else?!" Sibel stared back, starting to cry. "I don't know what else to say until you say something...I'm not even sure how I want you to react to this." She turned around and leaned her head against the wall. "This is one of the worst things that has happened to me."

"Well, I was gonna say I think it's pretty cool," John whispered, and stepped up so that he was only a few inches behind her. "But I still hope it's temporary. We might be able to get Beckett to run a few blood tests..." He put a hand on her back in an attempt to comfort her.

"You're not mad or anything?" She turned around with tears in her eyes, then immediately hugged him.

"Of course I'm not mad!" He said into her hair, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and squeezing."Now come on, let's go see what we can find out."

Rodney found Nova outside on a balcony, sitting with her back against the outside wall and her head on her knees. She had her arms around her legs, and was breathing irregularly, like someone does when they're trying to cry without being heard.

Rodney felt awkward, and slightly afraid about coming up to her in this circumstance. He breathed out quickly, and apparently she heard him because she turned a little to see him through her hair. "Nova...um..." He walked over and sat down next to her.

She sat up, and started wiping at the tears off her face. "Rodney, hi." She sniffed. "I'm sorry, you shouldn't have to see me like this..." She had to use all of her willpower not to look away.

"It's okay...it's not that bad, you know?" He wiped underneath her eyes. "I mean, when John went through his transformation thing, he was stuck as it! At least you can change in and out... right?" He tried to make the conversation as comfortable as possible.

"I guess." Nova replied, feeling a little but uplifted by his encouraging words.

Rodney gave her a hug. "Even if it isn't temporary, you can control it right? Or enough at least...you lunged at the queen pretty darn quickly." He chuckled, trying to make everything sound happier.

Nova returned the embrace strongly, grabbing at the fabric of his shirt. "I guess I did." She felt the beginnings of a smile on her lips, and was feeling better each time McKay spoke.

"How exactly do you feel about all of this?" Rodney asked, finally, looking into her eyes.

"I...I don't know." Nova replied, honestly. "Tired. And..." She lowered her voice. "Scared."

"Well, I'm sure that everything will be alright! I mean, John and I could be dead right now, but we're not!" Rodney said, trying to brighten it all up.

"True." She agreed. "And...I don't think...I don't think I could handle that."

Rodney glanced behind her, seeing a shadow from the light in the window. He saw Sibel dancing around, singing, then pointing at Nova and motioning for him to kiss her. She disappeared a moment later, and Rodney turned back slightly flushed.

"Something wrong?" Nova asked, suddenly worried that these events could also be taking a toll on the young scientist.

"Kind of.. I just saw Sibel dancing in the window..." Rodney replied.

"Wha--really?" She glanced behind her. "She's not there now."

"Yeah I know...um, there's something that I've been wanting to tell you..." Rodney replied getting up enough courage to begin.

"Oh?" Nova replied, turning back to face him.

"I'm kind of jealous of John how he was able to just show Sibel how he felt about her when she first kissed him...I wasn't able to get up the courage to..." Rodney paused. "Forget it, I don't need to explain!" He came up extremely close, and started to kiss her, deeply.

Nova had to grab on to his shoulders for balance, as the ground and the sky switched places, and then were back where they belonged in the next instant. A warm, happy, blissful feeling quickly overwhelmed her disorientation, and it took her a moment even to realize what happened.

Sibel bounced out and saw the look on her sister's face. She looked around for a second, then belted out "She's in LOOOOVE! She's in LOOOOOVE! Glory be! Lord above! Got to be, she's in love!" Then she immediately ran away, realizing that the awkwardness that she had just added would be enough for the evening.

She brushed past John, who wondered aloud what she was giggling and screaming and running for.

Rodney looked extremely surprised, and started blushing. He backed up for a minute and turned to the side hiding his face.

Nova simply sat on the ground, staring at him, mouth slightly ajar. She finally cracked a crooked smile. "Rodney McKay, I did not think you had that in you!" Her teasing was a feeble attempt at hiding her own blushing.

Rodney stood, thinking about it for a moment, then smiled. "Well, I'm not ALWAYS the wimpy scientist!" He sat down again.

"Well, that's good to hear." Nova paused. "I think." She smiled, mischievously.

"Just don't go all crazy cat-lady on me like Sibel did to John. Remember, when we walked in that one time?" Rodney said, chuckling to himself remembering the look on John's face.

Nova giggled. "I'll try to restrain myself. But no guarantees."

Sibel continued to giggle as she watched out the window. She felt a tap on her shoulder, and nearly screamed she was so surprised.

She jumped around to see Sheppard with a slightly frightened look on his face from her reaction. "Um... Are you alright?" He asked.

"NO! They just kissed, I'm so happy!" Sibel started dancing around happily.

"I missed it?!" John asked, ducking around Sibel and trying to get a good look out the window. "That's weird," He said, and thought for a moment. "They're sitting on the ground not looking awkward or embarrassed."

Sibel giggled. "I'm soo proud of him!"

Rodney did simply sit there feeling proud of himself, happy that he finally got out his feelings for Nova, even if not completely. But John hadn't told Sibel either that he was in love with her. Even so, in the kiss, it was like magic. His body still tingled and his limbs felt numb. Nova just felt...good. A hot feeling of satisfaction that was like a drug.

John threw a glance over to Sibel, upon recognizing the concentrated but somehow vacant expressions on McKay and Nova's faces. "They gonna be alright?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Entirely! I kinda tried to make it awkward...but it didn't seem to work!" Sibel snapped her fingers at her defeat.

"Well, you know, it's so hard to make Rodney feel awkward."

Sibel stared out the window at the two, happy as a clam. "I'm sooo tempted to go out there and start dancing to Once Upon a Dream with Nova..." She remembered how the sister's had always danced to silly love songs like princesses.

Rodney looked over. "Well, there isn't much else to say right now...want to get dessert?"

"Dessert...sounds wonderful!" Nova replied, still wearing a grin that could knock over Mount Rushmore.

Rodney helped Nova up, then hugged her a bit as they walked inside. Nova was stolen away by her sister. Sibel danced with her, pretending that she was wearing a dress, too. "Iiii know you, I walked with you once upon a dream! I know you, the gleam in your eyes is so familiar a gleam. And I know it's true, that visions are seldom all they seem. But if I know you, I know what you do. You'll love me at once!" Sibel spun her sister into Rodney's arms. "The way you did once upon a dream!" Sibel skipped off down the hallway towards the messhall, ready for her next dose of sugar.

Nova didn't even have the negativity in her to stare at her sister like she was a lunatic, she just smiled and went along with it, electing to catch up with Rodney once her sister was done singing and dancing.

Rodney and Nova entered the mess hall and got dessert. They sat down at the table where Sibel was already eating her ice cream. She giggled the moment she saw them, then continued to stare at her ice cream. John entered a moment later and sat down next to Sibel as well.

Silence passed, the four munching on their treats, as everyone waited for someone else to say something first.

Sibel watched trying to restrain from giggling. "Okay someone say something or I'm going to choke on my ice cream...."

"Sibel, did you have blood taken in the infirmary?" Nova asked, suddenly feeling a strong need to direct attention in some direction.

"Yes, they said they'd examine it for any 'abnormalities'. Pffft, I am an abnormality in myself!" Sibel chuckled to herself. She leaned back and held her head. "BRAIN FREEZE!" She hit her head against the table.


	21. Chapter 21

The next morning, Nova drifted in-and-out of sleep, willing herself not to awaken. She knew she'd stayed up far too late the night before, working on her novel, having been suddenly inspired by all of the excitement over the past few days.

Sibel woke up exceptionally early for herself with a hot flash. She rubbed her neck, and lay out of the covers for a while, listening to her and her sister breathing.

Rodney and John weren't able to get much sleep either. First, they got kidnapped, second, the girls turned out to have a power that was unable to be explained.

Nova finally stirred awake, unable to any longer stand the fevered daze she seemed to be in. She groaned, and rolled over, miscalculating the distance between herself and the edge of her top bunk, falling to the floor with a very loud _THUNK!_ which completed her waking up process.

Sibel jumped up and hit her head on the top bunk, which made her jump even more, and fall onto her sister on the floor.

"Ouch!" Nova shouted, becoming extremely bruised from so much physical impact. "Wow!" She exclaimed. "I'm awake. Are you awake, Sibel?"

"Entirely and totally!" Sibel said, as she rolled away and rubbed her head. "Let's go get ready."

"Let's." Nova agreed, and jumped up off of the floor to grab her daytime clothes. While getting dressed, she called to her sister in the next room "So...I don't know about you, but I think the guys took it pretty well yesterday."

"Amazingly, I agree. I mean...John said that he thought it was cool!" Sibel made a weird face as she braided her hair. She ran over and grabbed her notebook. She sat down on the bed and scribbled a little note about the zoanthropic morphing process. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be!" Nova shook herself, brushed off her shirt, and then straightened. "Off to breakfast!"

"Amen!" Sibel jumped up and took her sister by the arm. They skipped off towards the mess hall together.

Breakfast tray in hand, Nova sat herself down at an empty table, while Sibel plopped down next to her, and they began feasting on their cafeteria food.

Sibel heard a familiar whisper and saw John and Rodney enter the mess hall as well. She smiled then continued eating. They each got their own trays, and sat across from the girls.

"Good morning, campers!" John said, in an uncharacteristically chipper fashion. Nova nodded a greeting at both men, and continued eating.

Sibel smiled, then leaned back and set her feet up on John's lap again. It had become almost a tradition for her to do that as a greeting to the handsome man.

"How did you two sleep?" Rodney asked.

Nova glanced at her sister, and then back at McKay. "Mm...okay, I guess. You know, a little feverish, but not insomniatic."

"_You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams,_" Sibel thought to her sister. "How about you guys?"

"Not a wink." John said, bluntly. But that didn't wipe the chipper smile off of his face, and Nova's guess was that he'd had a few cups of coffee too many that morning.

"Well, that could be a good thing!" Sibel replied as she finished her last piece of bacon, "What exactly is on the schedule for today?"

John and Rodney glanced at each other, then back at the girls, and shrugged.

"Day off, I guess." The colonel said.

"Oh, really?" Sibel raised an eyebrow at the two boys then glanced at her sister. "_What do you want to force them to embarrassingly do with us today?_"

Nova smirked. "_Hmm...we could make them take 'dance' lessons, or attend a karaoke party with us. Or we could go around asking people for their blankets and build a giant fort out of picnic __tables and comforters in the mess hall!_" She threw out idea after idea, like a malfunctioned computer that couldn't make up it's mind.

"I think we should do all of them!" Sibel jumped up, realizing that she said it out loud.

"So that's why they always look at each other and giggle without saying anything..." Rodney said, remembering that the two could communicate telepathically.

"Well, we kinda did that before we could communicate telepathically," Nova paused and thought for a moment. "I don't think that was even part of the package, I think that we already had a special connection, and it was just enhanced when...that thing happened." It made sense.

"Yeah, either way, ready for dance lessons boys?!" Sibel blurted out, happily, pulling the two out of their seats and pushing them towards the exit.

"For--what?" John voiced, allowing himself to be dragged outdoors.

"Sibel does the best Jitterbug on the planet, and a thousand other dances who's names I don't know, you'll love it!" Nova insisted, walking

"What can I say? It's an art that I love to show the world!" Sibel said laughing, as the four took a spot on one of the balconies. She closed the door. "_I don't think that we should surprise them even more by getting dresses on, but it would be fun, no?_"

"_Haha, it would be fantasmically amazing!_" Nova replied, despite the fact that she wasn't very fond of frilly things.

"_Well should we excuse ourselves for a moment, or save that little trick for later?_" Sibel giggled, and the guys gave each other a 'they're talking through their mind powers again' look.

"_Save it,_" Nova started. "_For the karaoke party. THAT will really get their attention_." She smiled at John and Rodney, a faint look of mischief crossing her face and flashing behind her eyes.

Sibel started cracking up just thinking about it. She hid her face in her hands then pushed her curly hair back. "Well, where should we start?"

"Basic steps!" Nova exclaimed, taking Rodney by the hand and motioning Sibel do the same with John. "You know better than I do, so maybe you should instruct." She giggled.

"Okay, then...Waltz? But that can be soooo boring!" Sibel began arguing with herself. "But...it _is_ a basic dance. What do you two know?"

"Well, I took a class in high school, but that was years ago." John stated, shrugging a little.

Sibel smiled, "Well, I'm just curious!" She looked at her sister. "So, we'll just start with the Waltz!" She grabbed John's hand.

"The waltz it is!" Nova laughed, turning to face her dance partner and waiting for her sister's instructions.

After an hour or so, the boys were amazed by the girl's teaching. "How did you two learn to dance like that?!" Rodney asked, surprised.

"I learned from Sibel." Nova stated, wearing a smile. She glanced over at her sister.

Sibel flushed being put in the spotlight, as Rodney gave her the 'how do you know these things?' look again. "Um...well, I had to teach myself...not enough money for lessons." She rubbed the sweat off her brow nervously.

"She teaches herself a lot of things." Nova filled in.

"Impressive." John said, raising his eyebrows.

"Heh...not really, lots of people have to do it!" Sibel jumped behind her sister and whispered in her ear. "What do you want to do next?"

"I want to take a magical carpet ride over China on Chinese New Year and see the fireworks....but I'm pretty sure that's out of the question, so...I don't know!" Nova glanced at the guys. "What do you want to do next?" She asked, a little louder.

Sibel started giggling uncontrollably. "I agree! You guys should choose next!" Rodney and John looked at each other, and then huddled, discussing different things that they could do.

"This ought to be interesting." Nova mumbled to her sister, wearing that 'queen of the world' grin that looked slapped on just a tiny bit crooked.

Extremely," Sibel smiled, seeing the boys look over at them.

"What--are you crazy?" Rodney stepped back from John, staring at him.

"Come on Rodney, it'll be fun!" Sheppard retorted, crossing his arms.

Sibel's eyes opened wide. "_As long as we get to make them dress up as animals with us and do karaoke, I'm fine with anything!_" She thought to her sister, imagining Sheppard dressed up as a moose.

Nova covered her mouth, and tried not to laugh out loud. "Whatcha got in mind, colonel?" She asked.

"Oh, nothing much..."

"And you're sure this is a good idea?" Nova wasn't one to be skeptical, but something about standing at the top of a set of basement stairs sitting on a lunch tray that was barely bigger than her butt made her just a little nervous.

"It'll be fine! I do this all the time!" John ignored the appalled look that McKay threw at him.

Sibel laughed maniacally. "I'll race ya!" She jumped onto one next to her sister.

"Next week's cookies say I can beat you to the bottom of these stairs." Nova bet, glaring playfully at Sibel.

Sibel glared back. "So be it! Let the games begin!"

Rodney gave a call, and the girls flew down the stairs on their sled-trays. Nova and Sibel hit the bottom of the stairs, sliding into the wall quite loudly.

"Who was it?!" Nova called up to the men.

Rodney and John looked at each other, and John hit his hand to his head.

"It was a tie..." Rodney said, slightly amazed that it always seemed to turn out that way.

"I'll give you half of my cookies anyways!" Sibel said, not wanting to start a wrestling match again. She was eager to see Rodney go down the stairs as well.

"Alright, now you two!" Nova shouted, climbing over the railing and landing on the next set of stairs. "On my mark! Three...two...one...MARK!"

The two men flew down the stairs. Rodney kept his eyes closed the entire time in fear that something would go wrong, like usual. Moments later, both trays smacked up against the wall, and the sound reverberated throughout the lower floor.

"Are you guys okay?" Sibel yelled down rubbing her ears.

Rodney opened his eyes, and was in perfect condition which was surprising. "Um.. Yes?"

"Haha, you tied too!" Nova said, whipping around the end of the staircase and flopping down on the ground next to McKay.

"See? Perfectly safe!" John insisted. "Of course, you fall off every now and again, but, hey..."

"That's normal for almost every situation in life!" Sibel said as she sat down next to John. She smiled evilly at her sister, imagining what else they would make the two guys do with them.

Nova held her hand up, like she was holding an invisible clipboard. "Alright...dancing! Check! Sledding down the stairs on lunch trays and possibly putting ourselves in mortal danger...Check! Now, there's just one thing left to do." She smirked at her sister.

Sibel started giggling and hid her face to conceal the evilness as best as she could. She jumped up. "Ready for your next mission?!" She asked the two men.

"Not quite sure..." John replied, standing up slowly.

"Good!" Nova squealed, and grabbed them by the arms and started running back up the stairs. John barely managed to grab Sibel, and the four of them were led by an overly-energetic Nova to the nearest transporter, a few floors up.

They pushed the two men into the room. "Are you ready, Nova?" Sibel asked, trying to contain her giggles.

"Oh, I'm ready, Sibel. Costumes, please?"

Sibel ran into the girls closets and brought out the five animal costumes that they had. Sibel grabbed the lion one and handed the lamb one to her sister. She looked at the guys. "Choose which ones you want to be! There's a tiger, a bunny, and a moose left!" Sibel ran into the bathroom with her sister, and they came out dressed as they were when they did karaoke.

"...This explains some things." John muttered, grabbing the tiger costume from the bed and slipping it awkwardly on over his clothes.

Rodney looked at the two, and he decided that he didn't want to be the moose. He grabbed the bunny costume and did the same as John did. Sibel giggled. "Pink bunny Rodney...a rare sight, no?" She asked her sister.

Nova giggled, and then grabbed Rodney in a bear hug, nearly squeezing the life out of him. "BUNNY!" She exclaimed.

Sibel cracked up watching Rodney try to wriggle away. She stood next to Colonel Sheppard. "Well, figures you'd choose my counterpart!" She laughed seeing the tiger outfit.

"Yeah, you like it?" John asked, turning slightly to the side. Nova finally released Rodney and allowed him to breath, and then ran over to the closet and rolled out the karaoke machine.

Sibel giggled then kicked John's butt. She ran over and helped her sister with the machine. "What kind of songs should we do tonight? Showtunes? Love songs? Duets?"

"Showtunes!" Nova said, and then to answer the look from her sister that seemed to ask 'why?', she said "They're most likely to recognize showtunes than anything else."

"Very true! Which ones first? We have sooo many!"

"Hmm..." She flipped through the CD case, and then glanced back. "What do you guys think? We've got some Alan Menken, ooh some stuff from Annie get your Gun, that's fun! And...stuff!"

"Singing in the Rain, Disney movies on Broadway, too.." Sibel stared at the two, who looked slightly frightened.

"Oh, and some _very_ nice Little Shop tracks!" Nova added. She stared expectantly at John and Rodney, wearing an almost-vacant smile.

"I never really watched many movies...period...so I think that John should choose!" Rodney pushed John forward and hid.

John felt cornered, and, not knowing what to do next, said "...Ahh, you two pick!" And smiled, innocently.

Sibel giggled, "I'm not suuure...we coould do one, then make them join in!"

Well, I see that working." Nova agreed, and flipped again through the CDs. "You have more musical taste than I do, pick something...colorful! And fun! And energetic!"

Sibel immediately jumped up with a CD, hiding it from the group. She put it in and handed microphones out. "I think that it's track 3..." She said as they heard some music come on. "Yup!" She restarted it and paused it. "The lyrics are on the computer monitor!" They started scrolling.

"She's in love?" Rodney asked, skeptically.

"Well, she is!" Nova giggled, flipping her hair behind her shoulders and gripping her microphone carefully with her big mitten.

"Which she?" Sibel giggled as she hugged John.

"Y'know...HER." Nova smiled, feeling very proud of her noncommittal statement.

Sibel laughed as they finished their karaoke session. She fell down on the ground and pulled Nova with her. "That was too much fun!"

Nova let out an amused coming-down-off-of-a-laughing-fit sigh, and lay on her back, staring up at the ceiling. She invited Sheppard and McKay to join them on the floor.

The two guys stood there out of breath, then got pulled down onto the girls sideways. "I know, we're comfy!" Sibel said. "We get that a lot..."

"We do?" Nova asked, thinking about all the times her and her sister had sat on each other. She put both of her arms around Rodney's one arm, trying to remove any possible chance of his escape.

Sibel simply laid there, sure that Sheppard didn't really want to move. "Wow, what time is it?"

Nova glanced at the clock, and her eyes widened. "Dinner time!" She exclaimed. "That's what time it is."

"RACE YA!" Sibel jumped out of her costume extremely fast and ran out the door, not waiting for them to agree.

"Hey!" Nova shouted, tearing off her gloves and shedding her costume with very similar speed, and then taking off after her sister.

The guys stood there struggling to get out of their costumes and follow but failed miserably. Sibel ran in and grabbed her dinner, then sat down at the table and started eating. She wanted to get as close to desert as possible before the others arrived.

Nova followed very closely, and then flounced down into a seat next to Sibel. "Hello!" She greeted, and then started stuffing her face. Several minutes later, John and Rodney showed up as well.

"You two look out of breath!" Sibel giggled as she realized that they truly did 'leave the guys in the dust'. She continued eating and finished as Rodney and John sat down. She ran over and got herself an enormous bowl of vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup, and sweet granola flakes. "Yummy..." Sibel said, as she sat down with her dad's homemade concoction.

"No more ice cream for me, I think I'm gaining." Nova speculated, as she came back with a jello cup. "It's evil like that, ice cream is."

"Yes, but oh so good evilness!" Sibel smiled as she continued to eat. "So, what are we going to do after this?" She asked the two men.

"I was thinking somewhere along the lines of the beach." John said, and then excused himself to get his own dessert.

Nova glanced at her sister, and shrugged. "Beach sounds nice." She mumbled.

Sibel flushed. "And romantic..." Sibel smiled as John came back. She looked at the two men. "It's weird...I still have that ominous, imminent doom feeling, but it's not the same, you know?"

John looked around, and shrugged. "Not really," He replied. "I just feel hungry." He started eating his dessert.

Nova looked at Sibel with a bit of concern on her face. "_Anything to worry about?_"

"_Not really...Maybe...Well, I don't know..._" Sibel thought back then thought. "_Want to go change?_" Sibel smirked, remembering their earlier conversation.

Nova smiled ominously. "_Good idea._"

"Where do you want us to meet you boys, we need to go grab a few things...like...um.. FLASHLIGHTS! From our quarters!" Sibel said, as she put her bowl away and stood behind her sister.

"...For what?" John asked, completely forgetting what he'd said earlier.

"You wanted to go to the beach." Nova reminded him.

"Right! Ah, just meet up in the jumper bay in a few." He said.

"Alright!" Sibel grabbed her sister and the two ran off. "You have to pick a different dress than the one that you wore for Rodney and yours date, so you can surprise him again!"

"Hah, that was probably the only nice dress I had..." Nova mumbled in response, as the girls reached their quarters. "How about something more casual? Like..." She grabbed a pair of denim shorts from her dresser. "Whoa, I haven't seen these in a while."

Sibel laughed. "What do you think we should both do?" She asked the kittens. They stared at her for several moments, then went back to napping on each others backs. "Those will look awesome on you!" She ran over to the closet and took out some of Nova's shirts. "Choose from these three!"

Nova looked them over, and then pointed. "That one! I'm so tired of dark colors..."

Sibel tossed the shirt to her. "Then what will I wear...?" She stared at the closet full of randomly colored clothes.

"You should wear that thing I made you pack!" Nova called, as she walked into the bathroom to change, once again leaving the door cracked so she could converse with her sister.

Sibel blinked a few moments. "You made me pack a lot of things! I have everything from dresses to paintball outfits in there..." Sibel looked through. "Well, I don't think that I should go in a dress since you're not really going to be fancy." Sibel scanned the clothes and simply put on her favorite pair of jeans. She looked at several shirts then chose a gray tank top with a black vest attached. "This will work!"

Nova came out of the bathroom, hopping on one foot and trying to tie her shoe. "I hate laces..." She growled, and then looked up. "Oh, I love that top! Didn't I make you pack that, too...?"

"I think...that you made me pack my entire closet!" Sibel suddenly realized this as she quickly switched out. She straightened out the rosy-heart pattern on the tank top and smiled. "Ready when you are!"

"Flashlights!" Nova remembered, grabbing hers from her ripped tactical vest that was hung on the back of a chair.

"Right!" Sibel opened the door and grabbed the flashlight on the nightstand. "So we should come up with questions to ask them, not awkward ones though, Nova!" Sibel explained as they began to walk towards the jumper bay.

"You mean so that we don't have several moments of complete silence like Rodney and I did on our--hey, don't even pretend like you weren't watching us the first hour!" Nova exclaimed, poking her sister in the shoulder. They arrived in the bay.

"Ouch! I wasn't going to pretend I didn't..." Sibel smiled, "I am going to pretend that I didn't burst onto the balcony singing She's in Love!" Sibel laughed as the guys stared at the two girls.

"You ready?" John asked, not moving.

"You never did." Nova mumbled to her sister, and then, to John "Yes, I think so!"

Sibel giggled seeing the way that Rodney looked at her sister, "Let's go then!" Sibel grabbed John by the arm.

They climbed into the jumper, and John piloted them off toward the shore.

Sibel took the seat next to John and Rodney and Nova sat behind them, "Well, are we just going to be walking or what? Or wait... IS it a surprise?!" Sibel's eyes opened wide.

"Well, if it was a surprise, wouldn't telling us ruin it?" Nova asked the back of Sibel's head.

Sibel stared, "Yes...." Sibel then started tapping her toes to the song that she had stuck in her head at the moment. They arrived on the shore smoothly and happily. The four stepped out as the Jumper door opened, "I love the ocean at night so much more than during the daytime!!!"

"So do I." Nova agreed, grabbing Rodney's arm. She took a deep breath, and started walking.

"Daytime, night time, it's all the same to me." John shrugged, but the look on his face said that he was lying.

Sibel giggled seeing the look on John's face, she could read him like a book. She snuck behind him and jumped on his back for no reason, "Normally, I would have tackled you to the ground, but since we're not on the beach yet, it might be painful..."

"Thanks for that." John said, hoisting Sibel up to be more comfortably seated, and started walking as well.

Sibel was excited, she hadn't gotten a guy to agree to carrying her in a while, "Rodney you forgot to bring Ronan to carry Nova for you!!!" Sibel laughed. Rodney flushed.

Nova glanced at him, and then said to Sibel "Ah, I'm not as fond of being carried as you are. I prefer my own two legs, they're much more controllable." She giggled.

"Eh, I like the feeling of not being able to control myself..." Sibel paused, "Sometimes..." The four arrived at the beach and you could see the stars glittering on the ocean's surface. Sibel got off of John's back and sat down in the sand. She dug a hole around her feet and buried them.

John sat down next to Sibel, and started drawing in the sand on top of her feet. Nova spun around, sitting down and moving her arm in such a way that forced Rodney to sit down on the sand facing her.

"Questions or game? DUDE!!! It would be so much fun to play hide and seek here!!!" Sibel said looking at the brush around her trying to make sure that no silence stayed for more than several seconds.

"Haha, I'm not so sure Hide and Seek is such a great idea, remember what happened last time I did that in the dark in a strange place?" Nova was referring to when they were teenagers, and she'd sprained her ankle on the neighbor's lawn.

"What questions?" John asked, curiously. "Have you two been plotting evil things again?" He asked, smirking.

"Not evil, we just want to make sure that there's not such thing as 'awkward silence' while we're here!" Sibel laughed feeling John poke through the sand to her foot. She dug a deeper hole in fear of being tickled.

"Silence is fine," Nova agreed, "But awkward silence is a no-no. For me, at least." She lay down on the sand, putting her hands behind her head to keep it out of her hair.

"I agree!" Rodney replied as he watched Nova lay back. "If you guys could be any animals, which ones?!" Sibel asked.

"Hmm..." John stopped playing with the sand, and rubbed his hands together contemplatively. "A big bird of prey." He finally said.

"Probably an octopus..." Sibel turned quickly towards McKay, "Wow... Odd choice!! Your turn to ask a question, guys!"

"We get a turn?" John asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That's the way the question game works!" Nova said, sitting back up and trying to adjust herself comfortably.

"Exactly!!!" Sibel smiled. She had played the question game with almost every single one of her friends and seemed to have mastered it at this point, "Anything and everything is included!" Sibel said explaining the guidelines, if they could even be called guidelines.

"Hmm..." John stared out over the ocean for a moment, and then said "When you were in kindergarten, what did you want to be?"

Sibel looked at her sister then back at John, "A werewolf..."

Nova had to laugh. "Well, there ya go." She murmured. "I wanted to be an ice cream truck driver. My grandpa drove an ice cream truck, and I thought it was the coolest thing in the world."

Sibel laid down on the ground and stared up at the sky, "If you could turn into any mythological creature in the world, what?"

John wrinkled up his forehead. "That's a good question...never was into mythology." He said, and then "I always wanted to be that guy with all the hands, though." He looked over at Rodney.

Rodney stared, "A sphinx..." Rodney replied not able to think of anything else.

"Ooh, sphinx! That works!" Upon John's surprised look, Nova shrugged. "They're supposed to be smart."

"Nova, you get to ask the next question!!! Since I came up with the first one!!" Sibel smiled.

"Yay!" Nova clapped. "Okay...what's your personal theme song? Seriously, any song, from any decade, any tv show, any movie."

Rodney stared for a second, "The Star Trek theme song..."

"Space!" Nova exclaimed. "The final fronteir. These are the voyages...hmm..." She thought for a moment. "We really should re-write the introduction to fit us. My dad used to love that music...it still makes me nostalgic."

"Hehe... Very very true!" Sibel said rembering all of those times, "WE could write a poem about everything! Even though people would be scared of it..." Sibel laughed.

"Mine's that song by Billy Joel...ahh you know, the one that wouldn't die for so long." John said, attempting desperately to remember the name.

Sibel giggled seeing the strained look on John's face.

"Which one?" Nova asked. "There's a lot of Billy Joel songs that wouldn't die."

"I'm Moving Out!" John exclaimed.

Rodney blinked. "Why?"

Nova laughed. "The song, silly! By Billy Joel."

Sibel started cracking up then sat back up. Rodney saw the group staring at him as he thought of a question, "What was your favorite place back on earth?" he finally came up with.

"Hmm..." Nova thought for a long moment, closing her eyes. Finally, she said "You know, I went all over the place, but I think if I had to go back now, I'd want to go back to California."

"If only they could--" John started to misquote the lyrics from a Beach Boys song, when Nova cut him off with her hand.

"Please, don't. Every joke, every pun, done to death. Seriously."

Sibel giggled, "Well, it would really depend. I love California, but my favorite place was probably Colorado!"

"Ooh, mountains!" Nova said, sighing. "Seems like years ago when we left, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, it's really weird!" Sibel got a weird look on her face then laid back again, "If you guys could do anything right now, what?"

John concentrated really hard on the stars. He lay down next to Sibel, and said "Well, since I don't wanna say what I'm really thinking, I'll say that I'd love to be paintball fighting right now."

Sibel turned onto her side, "Uh huh, I'm really curious as to what you're thinking...."

"I'm not!" Rodney blurted, "I would probably want to go home and visit my cat..."

"Yeah," Nova sighed. "You must be really worried about him. I remember once when I was a teenager, I left my cats at home alone for a few days, and when I came back I was worried sick that one of them would be locked out of the room with their food and water...I fussed over it for hours, but they were fine when I got home." She smiled. "Hey, now you can come visit Mittens and Pretzel!"

"Very true!!!!" Sibel exclaimed still looking at John on her side, "They'll love you to pieces!!!! Literally..."

"They're kittens." Nova mumbled, glancing at the scratch marks on her arms and legs. "Anyway...you're turn!" She looked at John.

He thought for a moment, and then said "Favorite movie?"

Sibel blinked a few times, "Thumbelina..."

"I KNEW IT!" Nova shouted, and then was quiet for a moment. "Sorry. I just knew you were going to say that." She was quiet again, and then said "Well, It's a draw for me. Either the Princess Bride, Ever After, or The Emperor's New Groove. All very quotable!"

"You always knew that!" Sibel laughed, "Your turn again, Nova!"

Nova bit her lip. "Umm...okay, all honesty; Who has ever wished they were a Jedi knight?"

"I HAVE!!!!!" Sibel bursted out nearly screaming. Rodney simply nodded quietly.

After a few moment of silence, John slowly raised his hand.

"YAY! Then I'm not alone!" Nova exclaimed, smiling wide.

"Pffft, remember, I was the one who fantasized about Anakin..." Sibel said as she looked up at the sky lying on her back.

"This is also true." Nova said. "Your turn!" She nodded at Rodney.

Rodney thought for a second, "If you were stranded on an island, what could you not live without?"

"Whoooo that's a toughy..." Nova studied the constellations overhead. "Hmm...well, if I were stranded on an island...I think I'd want a pirate costume." She looked up at Rodney's confused and bewildered expression, and said "What! I had a pirate thing when I was a teenager!"

"Pfft, a thing??? More like an almost-as-bad-as-Sibel-with-Koreans obsession!!!" Sibel joked.

"Okay, so maybe I learned every lyric to that pirate song that Elizabeth sings in the first P.O.C movie, and maybe I made a cutlass out of cardboard and spent September 19 every year from the day I was 12 to the day I was 20 walking around town pretending to be Blackbeard..."

Sibel giggled uncontrollably rembering it, "If I was stuck on an island... Well I'm not even going to say..." She said as she grabbed John's hand.

"Very creative, Sibella." Nova teased, and giggled.

"Pffft, fine, you want creative? John dressed as a pirate captain!" Sibel laughed.

"There ya go!" Nova laughed as well. "Okay, I've got one; if you were stuck in a room with nothing but a table and a mirror, and there's absolutely no way out, how would you get out?"

Sibel's eyes opened wide, "I can't even remember that one.... I'm terrible with riddles," Sibel laughed nervously then sat up to look at her sister.

John bent one knee. "You look in the mirror, you see what you saw, you take the saw and saw the table in half, you put the two halves together, it makes a whole, you put the hole in the wall and crawl out."

"Yes!" Nova smiled. "I love that one!"

"Mr. Mensa." Rodney muttered, looking unimpressed.

Sibel stared, "Mr. Mensa?" Sibel asked curiously giving John the 'and-you-never-told-me-this" look.

"He qualified, but never entered." Nova mumbled, flipping through mission reports in her mind.

"...you don't forget anything, do you?" John asked, turning to face Nova, wearing an appalled look.

"You have no idea... It freaks me out sometimes. My memory is terrible usually, but I remember really odd little things. Like, my first boyfriend, I remember exactly what shirt he was wearing when we met in 6th grade." Sibel replied as she laid back down, "Of course.. I also remember the exact shoes that you were wearing when I met you, John..."

Nova pointed at her sister, but kept her eyes on Rodney. "Now, see, this is why we would be perfect FBI partners. I don't remember stuff like that, but she does, and I can remember every file I've ever read."

Sibel laughed, "Pfft, I belong to Men in Black, forget the FBI!!!" Sibel stayed up since she was slightly uncomfortable on the sand, "If you could have an animal companion that lived forever, what?"

"A talking dog." John said, blatantly.

"Really?" Nova replied, raising one eyebrow. He shrugged.

"An owl..." Rodney finished off the question with his answer. Sibel looked back, "Not even going to comment about Sword in the Stone..."

"Owl would be cool." Nova defended. "Athena had an owl. She's my favorite Greek goddess!"

"Wow, what time is it?" Sibel asked unable to tell from the darkness of the planet or the position of the stars.

John glanced at his watch. "About ten-thirty." He said, sitting up with Sibel.

"Wow, we've been out for an hour already?!" Nova asked, in astonishment.

"What time are we supposed to head back?" Rodney asked John unsure of what he had planned since he was 'the leader'.

John closed his eyes, and put his elbow on his knee. He opened his eyes again. "You know, I vaguely remember Sam saying something about not staying out past midnight..."

Sibel giggled, "You're just as bad as me!!! Of course, I don't usually fall asleep until at least 2 o clock in the morning..."

"Well, what do you all want to do?" Rodney asked as he sat up.

Nova shifted positions so that she was leaning against Rodney's side. "Too bad that's not a lake," She pointed to the ocean. "I'm a champion stone-skipper."

"No, I am the champion." John interjected.

Sibel started cracking up, "I thought that you said skinny-dipper at first!!"

Nova covered her mouth, trying not to laugh hysterically. "Oh, see that would be interesting." She shook her head. "After all the ice cream we've had the past couple months though, it could be more mentally scarring than anything else."

Sibel sat up and laughed harder, "We're not fat we're fluffy!!!!"

"Amen!" Nova exclaimed. "Besides, I think that Dad would kick us into next week if he heard us say that either one of us was fat."

"Yeah.... No, he would kick us back to Earth, THEN kick us into next week!" Sibel said as she laid back not noticing that John had sneaked his arm behind her, "Well, what should we do?"

"An excellent question, dear sister!" Nova replied. She closed her eyes for a moment, listening to Rodney breathing. Then, without opening her eyes, said "Maybe we could camp on the beach. You wanted to go camping, didn't you, Sibel?"

"YES!!!! But all my camping gear is on Atlantis!!! Ah well, we could all sleep in the jumper!!!" Sibel exclaimed sitting straight up, " OR OR OR!!! We could build a raft and tie it to the beach then sleep on that and let the ocean rock us to sleep!" Sibel continued to come up with random ideas.

"But what if we fell off in the middle of the night?" Nova wondered aloud, her eyes shooting open. "We'd be in the water. With the aquatic life."

"WHOA!!! MAYBE THEN WE'D TURN INTO MERMAIDS!!" Sibel jumped up and ran over to her sister. She pulled her sister off the ground, "WHAT DO YOU WANNA DO?!!" She stared into her eyes waiting for the response.

"OOH! We could...um..." Nova tried to hide a yawn, and then said "Uh, we could go to Narnia! Or, we could draw a map of Atlantis, or..."

"Oh, that works!!! Or we could make the guys act out a scene from a random play with us!" Sibel exclaimed her love for acting shining through, "Or we could just sit here and do nothing..." Sibel kept the quote in her mind and saved it for later.

"Scene from a random play would be fun." Nova said, smirking deviously at John and Rodney.

Sibel started cracking up as she imagined Rodney dressing up as the Phantom of The Opera. She sent the image to her sister as well.

Nova resisted laughing out loud, and the men clearly indicated that they knew the girls were thinking to each other again. She cleared her throat. "Ahem...how about something we'd all know? OR we could act out that scene from...oh wait, that wouldn't work, we've got two chicks...hmm..."

Sibel started cracking up, "A crossover between the little mermaid and... PHANTOM OF THE OPERA!!!!" Sibel screamed pointing at Rodney not letting the joke die.

"Where do you get these ideas?" Nova asked, grabbing her sister and sitting on the ground. "Besides, I don't remember Phantom of the Opera, I only saw it once, and I didn't really like it." She defended herself from her sister's evil death glare.

"Hmmm...." Sibel started cracking up again then whispered, "Beauty and the Beast," into her sister's ear.

Nova choked back laughter. "Um, maybe we could do a scene from Aladdin, I've always wanted to be Jafar...whoa, ever notice how much Jafar sounds like Jaffa?" It was official; She was slap happy.

Sibel giggled the weirdest sounding giggle in the world, "I don't want to be Jasmine though!!!! Her head's too big in the second movie..."

Nova laughed. "Fine, then, we can do the Broadway version!"

"Aladdin? Really?" John asked, looking disapproving.

Sibel stared off into space, "I forgot that there was a broadway version..."

Rodney stared at Nova, "Um... ARe you sure about this? John and I aren't actors you know..."

"Puh-leeze!" Nova said, smiling. "Sibel and I aren't astronauts either, but that hasn't prevented us from leaving our own galaxy!"

Sibel giggled, "Astronauts..."

Rodney stared at her and she stared back then said, "Sugar's kicking in worse than before..." "Well, I'm not sure... We're not really singers either!" Rodney tried to argue even though the girls had heard them in karaoke.

Nova scoffed. "And we are?!" Images of her and her sister screeching at the top of their lungs filled her mind.

"You're not bad, anyway." John said, shrugging.

"Well, thank you for that. But you guys aren't, either. You know, if you don't want to do it, you could just say so..."

Sibel laughed, "Do guys ever say no to pretty girls?" John started to retort, but decided it was best not to.

Sibel saw the beginning of the gesture and fell back, "Well, Nova, what do you want to do first and we'll make them do it!"

"Mmm we could build that raft you were talking about sleeping on!" Nova suggested, smiling.

Sibel jumped up and ran into the brush, "I'll find the wood!"

"There's some rope and tar in the jumper." John said.

"Tar? Why?" Nova asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

"...Good question." He walked off toward the jumper, and Nova threw her hands up.

"I'll..." She sat down. "Sit here and wait for you to come back with the supplies."

Rodney sat with his computer drawing out a plan of the raft schematics to be helpful; he was afraid to sink secretly. Rodney jumped as an enormous bunch of sticks and logs landed in front of the two. Sibel came out a few seconds afterwards and sat down, "Think that's enough?"

Nova sized up the pile. "Hmm...should be. If we could figure out how to get a little bit of railing around the edges, that would be great! And it'd help center the weight, too." John came back with a small paint bucket and a huge coil of rope.

"Ready?" Rodney asked as they finished up the raft and tied a few more knots, "Um... Who's going to test it?"

Nova stared at their creation. It was actually quite beautiful, considering it had only taken them two and a half hours. "I will." She said, finally. "I'm the most likely to dry off fast if it fails, you guys are all wearing long pants."

"Can you swim?" John asked, skeptically.

Nova glared sideways. "No, I just have faith in our craftmanship. Of course I can swim!"

"DUH!!! She's a sea nymph!!!" Sibel joked as she watched her sister turn around and give her a funny look.

Nova threw off her shoes. "I'll need help getting it to the water's edge." She stated.

Sibel stepped forward, "Nova and I are stronger than you two put together, not to be rude of course!" She ran towards the raft and stood next to it as she rolled up her pants partially since she had already taken off her shoes.

"Freeze!" John exclaimed. He grabbed a flat piece of wood, and tossed it on to the little raft. "Don't need you getting stranded." He teased.

"Good idea." Nova replied, and the girls dragged the raft to the water's edge. She pushed it away from the shore until it was floating, and then followed it into the water, and climbed on to it, careful not to tip it over in the process.

Sibel watched and smiled, "Is it comfortable??" She saw her sister slightly nervous about tipping it over.

"It's a little wobbly." Nova called back. "But I think it'll float." She stood up, slowly, steadying herself, and jumped up and down a couple of times, then shifted her weight back and forth. It barely gave. "Yep, we did a good job!" She shouted.

"YES!!" Sibel jumped then slipped on a rock in the water and fell in. She sat there for a moment, "Oops... Well, if I'm already wet!" Sibel went over to the raft and climbed onto it with her sister, "It is actually comfortable..."

"It is!" Nova said. "Those leaves were a good idea." She patted the 'floor', and then pushed them a little bit closer to the shore. "Come on guys, it's great!"

The guys looked at each other, "I'm not sure that that's a good idea..." Rodney replied extremely nervous about how much weight the raft could handle.

"Come on, what could it hurt?" Nova asked. "It can hold me, it's not gonna sink." She joked. "Besides, it's warm out!"

"Surprisingly she's right! I'm warmer wet than I was dry!" Sibel laughed as she jumped back into the water and went over to the guys. "I never had a problem with it," John replied walking into the water. Sibel ran behind Rodney and pushed him towards the water, "Come on Rodney! Don't be a fraidy-cat!!!"

Nova helped center the John's weight as he climbed on, and then waited for Sibel to force Rodney into the water, resisting the urge to root like she was at a baseball game.

"Rodney I swear... You don't know how strong I really am!! Do NOT make me carry you out there!!" Sibel warned as she gave a final shove which made Rodney fly a couple feet but he landed perfectly fine in the water.

"Okay okay!!!" He said afraid she'd push him again. Nova and John helped him onto the raft.

Sibel came back out and jumped on, "This is too much fun!"

"There!" Nova said, and then laughed. "Now, we're all on the water. Do we just...drift...until we can't see the shore anymore?"

"Works for me!" Sibel said happily as she giggle watching Rodney clutch to the raft for dear life.

"Come on, I'm afraid of fish." Nova said, shaking her head at Rodney and smiling. "Have fun!" She pried his hands off of the log.

"I'm afraid of jellyfish... But that's only because I nearly stepped on several when I was a kid... And my friend got stung by them several times when she was on vacation..." Sibel replied to the comment as she laid back. Rodney gave her the 'you're-not-helping' look. He relaxed as much as possible then decided to lay down so he didn't have to look at the water.

Nova put her hand on Rodney's arm, and then to Sibel, said "Hey, I nearly stepped on several of those too. Do you remember trying to dissect them with a plastic scalpel?"

"No... But I remember being forced to disect a squid in 4th grade. Then a frog, a crawfish, a trout, and more... It was terrible!" Sibel said remembering all the nasty little details.

"We just dissected frogs." John said, making a face.

"Frogs are nasty!!! Especially when the teacher asks you to cut open their stomach and you find out that the frog was pregnant..." Sibel replied the realized, "We should have made another raft!"

"That would have taken forever!" Nova whined. "Maybe we can build another one tomorrow. And then we can do dueling duets across the water!"

Sibel laughed, "That would be so awesome!!!" Sibel sat up, "What time is it now? Or are we actually going to camp on the beach tonight?"

John glanced at his watch again. "Midnight exactly, just turned." He said.

"...CAN we camp on the beach?" Nova asked, curiously. "We won't like...get in trouble, or anything?"

Rodney looked at John, "Well, as long as we let them know, since it is our day off, I think. Unless when you talked to Carter she said something different," Rodney replied looking at John for approval. He never really was fond of camping but they had the jumper, "Everything should be fine.." He mumbled to himself.

"It'll be fine." John said, waving his hand in dismissal.

"Sweet!" Nova exclaimed. "You get your wish, Sibel!"

"WHOOHOO!" Sibel nearly jumped up but decided not to since with her clumsy nature, she would most likely fall off the raft; who knows what odd alien creatures lurk beneath the surface.

Nova lay down, and sighed. "Sure is nice out."

"We should head back to shore, I don't want to drift too far away... I'm afraid of what could be lurking in these waters!" Sibel said as she grabbed the wood and started pushing back to shore slowly.

"Thanks for mentioning that, Sibel!" Nova said, grimacing and grabbing onto Rodney's arm. "I really hate fish..."


	22. Chapter 22

The group arrived on the shore and got off of the raft. The two girls pulled it onto the shore, "Dang, I haven't camped out in forever!!! This is going to be exciting!"

"We can tell scary stories and everything!" Nova squealed. "Too bad we don't have any marshmallows."

"Oh, that reminds me. Be right back." John let go of the raft, and took off at a brisk jog toward the jumper.

"Scary stories was EXACTLY what I was thinking!!! You read my mind..." Sibel gave her sister a look realizing what she just said then started cracking up.

John returned a few moments later, carrying two bags of marshmallows.

Nova gaped at him. "You had marshmallows on the puddle jumper?"

"Well, you never know when you'll need them." He pointed out, sitting on the sand.

"Wow you are always prepared aren't you?" Sibel looked at John funny seeing him sit down.

"The air force specially trains for preparedness!" He said.

"Yeah, but I doubt that sugary snacks are part of basic training." Nova replied, and sat down as well. She started digging a small pit, and then set some sticks up carefully, pyramid-style, inside of it.

Sibel scooted next to John, "You knew we were going to camp out here didn't you??" She smirked as she saw him look at her funny.

"Nahhh...but when you said you wanted to go camping the other day, I put marshmallows in the puddle jumper." John popped open a bag, and offered some to the rest of the group.

Nova pulled out a lighter, and flicked it on under the little wood pile she had. It flared up. "I don't know how well that's gonna burn without some decent kindling, but it ought to stay good for a while." She put the lighter back into her pocket.

"Well, it's warm out. Hopefully, we won't need a full fire tonight!" Sibel exclaimed.

Rodney happily took several of the marshmallows and started roasting them, "Wait... Did you two say something about scary stories?"

"Yeah!" Nova stuck her own mallow over the fire. "Sibel is the master of scary story telling...she'll have us up all night."

Sibel looked over, "That's only because every time I get to the scary part even if it's not a scary story, something scares me and I jump, thus scaring the rest of you..." Sibel said doubting her scary story telling skills.

"At least you don't scream." Nova mumbled, pulling her knees up to her chest.

"You're very correct! I meow..." Sibel replied, "I think we should wait a little bit to tell any scary stories though! At least until the sugar starts to kick in and make our imaginations overwork themselves!"

"Well what should we do until then?" Rodney asked with a mouth full of marshmallows.

Nova growled in frustration, as her own marshmallows kept catching on fire. "Let's talk to whoever invented fire and tell them that it's defective."

Sibel giggled, "Entirely...." Rodney looked at Nova then decided not to get into a conversation about the debate on who invented fire. He decided that only after John glared at him seeming as though he read his mind.

Nova finally threw her stick into the pit, and took a marshmallow out of the bag and ate it cold.

Sibel watched as her sister got angry at the marshmallows, "EAT THEM ALIVE!!"

Nova grimaced, and swallowed. "You know, I'm suddenly not in the mood for sugar. I guess I ate enough of it today for three people..." She shrugged, and crossed her legs so that she was sitting indian style, and started drawing in the sand.

Sibel sat accross from her sister and copied her every movement. She started giggling as the guys looked at them funny but continued to do what Nova did. "They're just like kids sometimes..." Rodney whispered to John.

"Yeah..." The colonel whispered back.

"I heard that!" Nova said, smirking, and not looking away from her sister.

Sibel laughed as she and her sister's gaze never left each other, "I'm afraid to tell ghost stories now.. Since..." Sibel's gaze turned cold, "You know..."

Nova widened her eyes. "You don't mean...?"

"I do..." Sibel replied still staring coldly at her sister. The guys leaned forward, "Since.. what?" Rodney asked.

"I don't think we want to talk about it." Nova said, hugging her knees, and turning toward McKay.

Sibel did the same as the boys sat next to the girls. "Well, I'm curious.." Rodney replied.

"Okay..." Nova shivered visibly. "If you insist. Sibel...?"

"Well, we had a couple friends about a year ago who would always come over and tell scary stories with us. They were the best, you know? They really got into it.." Sibel began, "Then, really weird things started happening. They were two sisters like us and they started writing horror movies together, for fun. Then the night after they told us the story of one of them, someone in the newspaper died in the same way..."

"It was really weird." Nova cut in. "You know that part of the newspaper that covers like, UFO reports and stuff? People started sending in reports that actually backed each other up...about this...I dunno, this thing."

"Even after that, they just thought that it was a coincidence, they continued writing stories. And everytime they thought of a new one and wrote it down, it happened," Sibel continued, "Well... One day, one of the girls and her boyfriend got into a fight. So because the sisters were twins, they had a strong connection and could feel the pain that each other felt, they wrote a story about him... And just for kicks, they added us in as witnesses..."

Nova shuddered. "We haven't spoken to them since. I still get chills when I think about it..."

"So they told us that the title was Karma. They started off with the fight and how it started. They didn't tell us that the story was based of the fight that actually happened, nor did they even tell us about the fight. The girl apparently thought that her boyfriend wasn't being truthful and possibly even cheating on her. She always had the feeling but never did anything about it since she didn't like to get into fights with anyone," Sibel watched the guys listen closely, "Then the girl caught him with another girl. She was furious, but even moreso she was sad. She went home that night with mixed emotions, suddenly her sister offered a suggestion as to what she could do. So they decided to play a prank on the two new lovers, a nasty evil prank, but it worked...."

"A nasty evil prank?" John asked, raising one eyebrow.

"Shut up and listen!" Nova snarked. "Yes, a very nasty evil prank. They waited outside, but it was hours before he came back out. I know, because Sibel and I saw the whole thing. And then...they..." She covered her face, and hid behind her knees.

Sibel sat there, "You finish it..." Sibel stared at the ground.

Nova regained her composure, and sat up. She lowered her voice to barely a whisper, forcing everyone to sit forward in order to hear her. "They...THEY JUMPED OUT AND STARTED SINGING THE WITCHDOCTOR SONG AT HIM AND THREW CARE BEARS!" She hid her face in Rodney's shirt. "THE HORROR!"

Rodney and John both jumped when Nova nearly screamed. Sibel started laughing, "Actually it did happen, but less scary!"

John had a hand on his chest. "That...was the scariest story...ever." He teased.

Sibel giggled, "I know, right?!" Sibel leaned back against a rock, "Your turns!"

"Hmm..." John sat forward. "I think I've got one."

Sibel stared eagerly sitting up, she loved being scared, even if she pretended she didn't most of the time.

Rodney looked slightly apprehensive of John's story telling tecniques, but seemed perfectly content to listen. "Okay, so there's this family. Mom, dad, the son, and their dog."

"What was the dog's name?" Nova asked.

"The dog doesn't have a name." Sheppard replied.

"Dog's got to have a name, John." She insisted.

"Okay, fine, the dog's name was...Fido. And the kid's name was James. Happy?"

Nova nodded.

"So the parents had to go on a trip. A business trip or something, I dunno. Kid's about ten years old, so they figure, y'know, he's got Fido with him, this big golden retreiver who they've had since forever. They leave, and the dog goes under James' bed like he does every night. James sticks his hand under the bed, and the dog licks his fingers, like he always does."

"Ooooo... Fido's a weird name..." Sibel said out loud not realizing it.

"He goes to sleep watching the news, and the last thing that he hears is something about a big jailbreak on the other side of town...the institution for the criminally insane, if I remember right. So James wakes up in the middle of the night, and he hears the sink dripping in the bathroom. He decides, whatever, he'll turn it off in t he morning. He sticks his hand under the bed, dog licks his fingers, so he turns the TV off and goes back to sleep. A few hours later, he wakes up again to the sound of the sink dripping! Getting a little annoyed, he's still not awake to go turn it off, so he sticks his hand under the bed again, Fido licks his fingers, and he lays back down and goes to sleep."

"This isn't scary." Nova mumbled, crossing her arms.

"SHHH!!!" Sibel prep-slapped her sister a couple times then nodded to John to continue.

A look of irritation crossed John's face. "Let me finish! Okay, in the morning," He tapped on his watch, as if to amplify the meaning of the statement. "He wakes up and sticks his fingers under the bed; the dog licks them, just like he's been doing all night. Like a good kid, he changes his clothes, puts his pajamas in the laundry basket, makes his bed, and goes into the bathroom to brush his teeth. Hanging over the back of the sink, is his dog, with it's throat slit, and blood dripping into the sink"

Sibel's eyes opened wide then she curled up quietly staring at John, "Poor Fido..."

Nova's eyes widened, and she pulled her knees closer to her chest. "So then...wait...what was under the bed?" She asked, in a small voice.

Sibel's eyes opened even wider than before as she scooted closer to the fire.

"Nobody knows." John said, quietly. "The boy and his parents disappeared. Whether they ran away, or they were murdered, well...we'll never know."

Nova grabbed Rodney. "You tell scary stories, Colonel Sheppard." She whispered.

"Seriously!" Sibel said as she kept her back to fire, fearing something would come up out of nowhere behind her.

Rodney decided to ruin the mood, "Well, if we never know then how do we know what happened to the boy and how he found his dog?"

John heaved an exasperated sigh. "It's a story, McKay!"

"Yeah, Rodney!" Nova agreed, and poked him in the ribs. Sibel felt like going over there and slapping him but decided to stay next to the fire.

"Doesn't matter, anyway." Nova decided. "Damage is done; I am not sleeping tonight."

Sibel nodded in agreement, "Gosh dang... Just the image of the dog creeps me out... You deserve to get blamed, John," Sibel teased.

John made a thankful gesture, smiling.

"_We should sneak into the woods when they're asleep and dress up like monsters and scare the tar out of them._" Nova thought to her sister, glaring at John.

"_That would be a very good idea. But I left my costume makeup and costumes back on Atlantis!_" Sibel thought back. She glared at John for moment and he gave her a confused look. She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him next to her.

"_We can just carry a bunch of stick and stuff, and then run out of the woods screaming like maniacs. HE SCARED ME AND NOW I WANT REVENGE!_"

"_We kinda brought it upon ourselves so I don't feel any need to bring revenge. I mean, we told them that we should tell scary stories, John simply told a SCARY story.._." Sibel thought back too scared to go into the woods.

"_Okay, I don't think I could face up to the dark right now anyway._" She grabbed on to Rodney, who seemed to be lost in his own little world, and tried not to think about psychotic killers under the bed. That, of course, made it harder not to think about

Sibel giggled when she saw Rodney jump as Nova scared him by grabbing him, "This is going to be a looong night!"

"Yes, yes it is." Nova agreed. "NO SLEEPING! If you fall asleep, then I might fall asleep, and if everybody's asleep, then creepy things might come out of the woods and suck our brains."

"Blech! Or worse... Turn us into zoanthropic- OH WAIT!!! That already happened!!!" Sibel said sarcastically.

Nova's eyes widened. "Yeah, let's just not sleep."

"That works for me!!! Kind of..." Sibel thought about it for a second then decided not to comment on the why-it-was-only-kind-of part.

John looked around the group for a moment. "What was that you said about Hide and Seek earlier, Sibel?" He asked.

Sibel's eyes opened wide, "ARE YOU CRAZY!! I'm afraid to even turn my back away from the fire right now!" Suddenly, the wind kicked up and the fire went out, "Crap..."

Nova let out a muffled scream and nearly crushed Rodney in her death grip. "Yep, now it's really dark..."

Sibel's eyes opened wider she started whining quietly as she scooted closer to John.

"Okay then, we could play in teams." The colonel suggested, resisting the strong urge to say something scary.

Sibel's eyes continued to be wide, "... Which ones? Because there's only three combinations. You and Me, Nova and Me, and Rodney and me. And vice-versa or what-not!"

"The obvious ones!" John said, grabbing her hand. "We'll hide first."

"Don't leave us alone!" Nova screamed.

Rodney looked around, "Wait, so how long do we count?!" Surprisngly Rodney wasn't afraid, most likely it was because he knew that the story was fake.

"Give us sixty seconds." Sheppard told him, trying to ignore the fact that Sibel was crushing every bone in his hand.

John pulled Sibel up as Rodney started counting, "I apologize if I scream out of nowhere. I love hide-and-seek in the dark, but I get freaked out easily..." Sibel told him as they ran into the woods and she looked over her shoulder the entire time.

Nova listened to Rodney count, not daring to move in the pitch black that surrounded them.

"Sixty!" He said.

"READY OR NOT HERE WE COME!" She shouted, not wanting one second of silence.

Sibel waited quietly but was paranoid enough to run out of the woods and back into the jumper.

John huffed, and followed her, and dragged her back to their hiding spot. "Come on, you can do it!" He whispered, as the sound of Rodney and Nova's footsteps came closer.

"Well when you're like me, you jump when someone walks into your room or calls you on the phone!" She thought to herself.

"Why don't we just go back and try to light the fire back up?" Nova asked, feeling jittery. "I can tell Sibel and John to come back..."

Rodney gave her a funny look, "Why are you two so scared? The story wasn't even real!"

"It doesn't matter whether or not it was real, it was scary! And--" Nova heard John's boot snap a twig, and screamed like nothing else.

Sibel then freaked out and screamed too. The guys both jumped and blinked at them for a couple seconds until they stopped screaming.

John lost it, and cracked up laughing, leaning against a tree.

Sibel stood there for a moment completely shocked then ran towards her sister whom Rodney pushed into the clearing. She hugged her and stood there silent.

"Okay, maybe we should go back to the beach." Nova whispered, trying to find her flashlight...which, she soon discovered, she'd left in the jumper.

"I like that idea.." Sibel whined as she hid her face in her sister's shoulder. She only noticed just then that her sister was several inches taller than her.

"John? Rodney?" Nova called out, suddenly aware of every stick, leaf, and bug under her bare feet.

Rodney stared at the two girls as he stood next to Colonel Sheppard who was still trying to contain his laughter.

"Let's go!" John managed to say, and started leading the way back toward the ocean.

Sibel and Nova clung to each other as they walked back. Rodney took up the rear which was surprising. When they got back to the beach, the girls sat down and stared into the distance.

"What time is it now?" Nova asked.

John hit the light button on his watch, which illuminated his face with a soft green glow. "It's two." He said, and then laid back with his fingers locked behind his head.

"Okay, we can go to bed now, right?!" Sibel asked nervously as she sat on the ground kind of upset at John for laughing at them before but entirely understood why.

"I thought you said no sleeping." John teased.

"We changed our minds!" Nova put in. "And if we're awoken to anything scary or prank-like...just remember how dangerous that would be on your part." She hunkered down into the sand, taking comfort in having all the little grains touching her legs and arms.

"Very true... I mean, what that wraith queen's body looked like when I came back to the jumper, heheheh.." Sibel quietly laughed.

Nova shuddered. "You know, thinking back on that, it's really disgusting." She said, grimacing.

"Yeah... I know..." Sibel replied as she looked at the two guys.

"Well, jumper or tents?" Rodney asked the girls.

"I'm good with just outside." Nova said, shrugging. "But a blanket to sleep on top of would be nice...I don't really want to wake up with sand in my mouth."

"Yeah, but one on top would be nice too. The wind is kind of chilly now..." Sibel added as she finally let go of her sister and held onto her knees to keep herself warm.

"So...just blankets, I guess." Nova said. She rubbed her arms.

John handed Rodney several blankets and he walked over to the girls. He started laying them out as John took out the flashlights and walked over.

Nova took a deep breath, smelling the ocean. "Something about water and dark...just smells really good." She murmured, and then thanked Rodney for the set of blankets, and lay down on top of one, leaving the other one folded for later.

"Yeah.. But my hair is still wet, so right now, I can't think because my brain is frozen.." Sibel replied as she huddled closer to herself, trying to think of what she forgot. She hit her palm to her head, "Sleep mask... If I had known that we would be spending the night out here, I would have brought my sleep mask."

"You sleep with a mask on?" John asked, intrigued.

"Eh, any kind of light really in my eyes bugs me and when you're in a city in another galaxy, there tends to be light everywhere. But this place is dark, so I should be fine! It's really cute though!! My mom bought it for me a really long time ago, and it's piggy eyes and ears and a nose!!" Sibel got overly excited, apparently, the cat-like hormones were still kicking in at random points in time.

"She usually can't sleep without it." Nova mumbled. "I just can't sleep if there's a lot of inconsistent noise. But the ocean lulls me to sleep." She smiled at no one in particular.

"With me, it's just light... It's evil..." Sibel continued for no reason. Sibel rolled over onto the blanket with Nova then took another blanket and wrapped it around herself.

"You cold?" Nova asked, her eyes starting to drift shut.

"Yes..." Sibel replied quietly as she closed her eyes but was too cold to go to sleep yet.

"Hmm." Nova breathed, the sound suggesting that she may as well already be asleep.

Rodney and John were standing up watching the two girls wondering what exactly they should do about the odd sleeping arrangements. The colonel threw down two more blankets on either side of the girls, motioning for Rodney to be quiet.

Rodney sighed as he tried to quietly lay down next to Nova who to everyone else, seemed asleep. Sibel turned over and smiled as John laid down.

"Think you'll be able to sleep?" He asked, in the kind of whisper you use when you're trying not to wake other people up.

"I should be fine, only thing that's keeping me awake is my hair," Sibel replied only loud enough for John to hear. Sibel and Nova became pros at whispering during high school when they would stay up late on school nights hyper up on sugar.

"It'll dry." John said, running a hand through her damp, curly hair, and smiling.

Sibel blushed a little but closed her eyes and pretended not to, even though it was clear for anyone to see. Since her cheeks were naturally red, instead of blushing through her cheeks like normal people, her entire face turned red, "You need sleep to, you have to drive us all back.. Um.. I mean... fly?"

"I'll sleep." John replied. He couldn't get to sleep until he was sure that everyone was okay...and asleep, as well.

Sibel woke up earlier then anyone else because of the light. She realized that a pillow was suddenly beneath her head but when she looked, she realized that she had rolled over onto John's shoulder and he was holding her. She looked behind her and Rodney and Nova were in the same position. She quietly giggled as she laid her head back down and waited until everyone else was awake.

John was the next person to wake up; years of being the leader of a team that risked their lives on a regular basis had made him a light sleeper, so Sibel stirring had alerted him a bit.

Sibel felt John stir a little bit, "Oops, I'm sorry! Did I wake you up?" Sibel whispered. Rodney and Nova continued to snooze away. Sibel had heard that Rodney was a heavy sleeper but she never imagined that it would be as much as Nova.

"It's fine." John replied, not moving. "How long have you been awake?"

"Not extremely long, but I wake up very quickly," Sibel replied quietly simply staying on his shoulder comfortable.

He glanced at his watch, and then let out a puff of air. "It's still pretty early, we slept for barely four hours."

"Then go back to sleep, I'm better with only this much sleep," She suggested hearing the sleepiness in his voice.

He sighed and nodded, shifting slightly. "Mmkay, wake me in about an hour."

Sibel smiled and kissed him lightly on the cheek then laid back down. She waited for about an hour and a half and listened to the ocean and everyone's breathing. The sun wasn't bright enough for the reflection on the ocean to burn yet so she could close her eyes without feeling the need to open them. After a few more minutes, John woke up of his own accord, but didn't move beyond opening his eyes, and he continued to breath rhythmically, staying in a comfortable medium between asleep and awake.

Sibel could feel that John was awake but didn't say anything. She resisted the urge to bite him as he rubbed her arm a little bit. She really needed to chew on something other than food.

"Good morning, beautiful." John finally whispered, after several more moments of silence.

Sibel decided that she couldn't resist anymore and bit his shoulder lightly, "I didn't want to wake you up yet. You needed more sleep."

"Yeah, well, I've always taken short nights." He replied. "It's about seven, anyway. That's when I wake up."

"Ah, well, other than the 'not-enough-sleep' thing, how did you sleep?" She continued to whisper.

"Wonderful." He said, and kissed the top of her head. "How about you? No light issues?"

Sibel sat up and stared down at him, "Up at the break of darn, but I'm fine!" Sibel looked over at the other two. Nova looked like a tiger when she slept, she was gripping onto McKay's shirt, "Awe.." Sibel said quietly as she turned back.

"Is she really that heavy a sleeper?" John asked, raising one eyebrow and listening to Rodney snore.

"Honestly.. I'm not sure anymore. She'll hear me take off a necklace and put it on my pillow, but then an earthquake hits and well... I really don't know..." Sibel said confused, "Of course she could be awake, she just doesn't like to talk much in the morning."

John shrugged. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Well, the raft decided to take a pleasure trip." He said, pointing toward their little contraption which was now several meters from the shore.

Sibel giggled quietly, "It's worse than me!" Sibel looked over at the other two lovebirds wondering when either of them would wake up, "Wouldn't you think that their stomachs would be their alarm clocks?" Sibel whispered to John.

"Ehh I dunno, all those marshmallows last night..."

"Very true," Sibel wasn't sure exactly what to do but she stood up anyways and stretched out. She nearly fell over at first but gained her balance again with the help of John.

A few minutes later, Rodney began to stir, and John nodded a good morning, before inviting Sibel for a walk. It was early, and they'd slept out all night, and a walk seemed proper.

Sibel smiled and accepted. Rodney didn't stir too much for the fear of being strangled by Nova wasn't very pleasant to him. He didn't know if or what kind of dream she was having.

Nova did wake up not too much longer, feeling that everyone else was awake, while she lingered behind in the dream world.

Rodney smiled, "Awake? Sibel and John went for a walk."

"Mmm." Nova acknowledged, still pulling herself into consciousness. "Sleep well?" She asked, in a raspy 'I-just-woke-up' voice.

"Enough, apparently Sibel is a morning person, she looked as bright as day.." Rodney yawned as he rolled towards Nova, still holding her.

Nova closed her eyes and looked down, trying to hide her morning breath. She yawned. "Yeah, Sibel's always the wake up call, I'm always the one that sleeps in 'til noon."

"Really? Well, I would do that if I had the chance, but John always makes sure that I don't..." Rodney replied yawning as well, "I want to go back to sleep.."

Nova glanced over at the rising sun. "It's pretty early. Can't be eight yet." She decided, snuggling into his chest. "You can go back to sleep if you want."

"Only if you do, too," Rodney replied closing his eyes.

"Not gonna be a problem." She murmured, already beginning to fade.

"No way. All the way to that tree?" John was pointing at a tree faaaar far off in the distance, staring at Sibel in disbelief.

"What?!" Sibel laughed unsure of the problem of throwing a rock about 50 pounds over 100 meters across the way.

He stared at the rock her had in her hands. "That thing? All the way to that thing?"

Sibel laughed again, "Yes!!!"

John crossed his arms. "Show me." He pushed.

"Um, I'm not exactly sure how to control it entirely... So if you suddenly see me like change into well, yeah, that's why!" Sibel said as she held the rock easily over her head and threw it all the way to the tree. They heard it hit the tree and watch the tree fall down, "Ooops..."

"Nice job." Sheppard shook his head. "Alright, now bring the rock back over here, as fast as you can." He said, cocking his head to the side.

Sibel smiled playfully then breathed out. She knelt down onto all fours and sprinted over towards the tree like a cat. She grabbed the rock and ran back as fast as she could, she was barely out of breath and felt like a million ice cream cones on a summer day.

John stood there, staring at her. "Your uh...eyes..."

Sibel blinked a few times and took out her pocket mirror, "Well, that's what I'm talking about!!!" Sibel laughed nervously, "Just tell me when they're normal again..." Sibel flounced onto the rock that she had thrown.

He kept watching her eyes, and sat down on the ground in front of her. "So...you got all that when you...?"

Sibel sighed, "Yeah... It's really cool!!! But at the same time, it's frightening... Like, I'm even afraid to hug you sometimes! I don't want to break your back!"

"I'll keep that in mind."

Sibel then wondered if Rodney and Nova were still sleeping. She decided to wait until Nova contacted her just so she wouldn't snap at her if she woke her up, "Well, what do you want to do?"

"I dunno." He replied, seeming bored for the first time since they'd gotten to the mainland. "We should probably get back and start packing, once Nova and McKay wake up, we should head back to Atlantis and check in."

"Alright!" Sibel smiled as she stood up, "Well, then, let's go!"

They headed back to the area on the beach where they'd slept, and started shaking sand out of blankets and carrying them back to the jumper.

Sibel continued but looked back at the two still sleeping on the sand, "Still heavy sleepers..."

"You mean late sleepers." John mumbled, looking at his watched. "It's 8:30!"

"8:30, that's not that bad. I normally sleep in later when I get the chance... So does Nova!" Sibel giggled as they finished packing, "I ain't waking the weretigress up!" Sibel backed up seeing John give her a look.

"Well I'm not gonna do it!" John retorted. "She's your sister."

"Uh huh... Just because I can regenerate, doesn't mean that I don't need to breath!!!!" Sibel replied back.

"I detect hostility." Nova's voice came from the ground.

Sibel laughed and jumped, "Don't eat me!! I blame him!" Sibel hid behind John.

Nova laughed. "I'm not mad! I just don't think there's a reason for you guys to be that worried, you wake me up every morning, Sibel."

"Pfft, yes but you two look oh so comfortable!!" Sibel teased and ducked as she was a rock come and nearly hit her in the head. Sibel meowed as she hid behind John again.

Nova gave her sister a menacing look, and then turned and touched McKay on the cheek. "Rodney, wake up, I think we're trying to leave."

Rodney finally woke up to a poking, "Oh really?? That's pleasant," Rodney rolled away and hid his face in the blanket.

Nova sighed, and leaned her weight on his shoulder. "C'mon McKay, rise and shine!" She shook him.

"Rise and Shine and give God the glory glory.." Sibel mumbled to herself, "Just pick him up and throw him in the jumper!!"

Nova huffed. "He sleeps just like me. Watch, he's gonna jump awake any minute, screaming something random."

They all waited, but nothing happened.

"Okay, long enough." Nova took a deep breath, got real close to his ear, and bellowed "RODNEY WE'RE BEING ATTACKED BY GIANT MUTANT PARASITES FROM DENEVA THEY'RE HERE!"

Sibel's eyes opened wide as Rodney jumped up and ran into the jumper, "Wow... You win, Nova!"

Nova smirked. "Hey, Trekkies are very good at waking people up." She shook off their blanket, and jumped into the back of the flying craft as well.

Sibel smiled laughing silently and took her seat next to the pilot's seat. John got in as they closed the door. They took off towards Atlantis and arrived several moments later.

When they climbed out in the jumper bay, Sam was waiting there, arms crossed, giving John that disapproving parent look.

"I thought you said we wouldn't get in trouble for staying out all night." Nova whispered.

Sibel secretly hid her giggles extremely well, "This reminds me of a time..." Sibel ended the thought there as she watched.

"You said you'd be back by midnight." Colonel Carter said.

"Yeah, but I sent a message back..." John shrugged defensively.

"We didn't receive any message." Sam said, giving him that 'yeah right you just now made that up to stay out of trouble' look. She sighed. "It doesn't matter, anyway. Dr. Beckett said he wanted to see you two," She switched her gaze to Sibel and Nova. "About Dr. Callimaeve's blood work."

Sibel blinked a few times then looked over at Nova, "Like a bad Christmas present, no?" Then Sibel and Nova walked off.

"I'm not sure I want to know what he has to say." Nova whimpered, as they entered the infirmary.

"I feel the same!" Sibel replied as the girls sheepishly walked up to Dr. Beckett, "Hey there!" "Well, hello girls!" Beckett returned a friendly smile.

Butterscotch!!!: (you get to make him tell us XD since I'm not sure what you were thinking of XD)

Nova made a weak, acknowledging sound, and Carson looked at her, wondering for a split second if she was alright. "I sent your blood in for some tests, Dr. Callimaeve." He said. "Now I can only assume that you and Dr. Sudenkorento were affected by the same thing."

"Ooh, please just tell us what the results were!" Nova whined, biting her lip.

He smiled. "Very good news, love; whatever bit you injected you with a kind of poison, similar to that of a snake bite. Now while the effects were still devastating, and you'll probably have those lovely marks on your necks forever, I don't think that you will actually continue to exhort super-human capabilities after a certain amount of time. My estimate is, the effects will wear off within the next two months."

Sibel was happy but she was also sad at the same time, "Thank you Doctor." She looked at her sister.

Nova was smiling again, that 'sense-of-impending-doom' look wiped from her face. "Thank you, Dr. Beckett." She exclaimed.

"Remember, I said 'might'," He reminded them. "So don't count on it, I've never encountered this before, so--"

"We understand, but at least it gives some kind of hope!" Nova felt so relieved, and yet strangely disappointed at the same time. Being completely honest with herself, she decided she didn't really know what she'd wanted, but must subconsciously know what she s_hould_ have wanted.

Sibel smiled as she walked with her sister out of the infirmary, "Well, I guess that it's the 'there's always an if' thing, huh?"

"Well, there always is an if!" Nova replied. "Come on, we gotta go tell the guys!"

"Well, alrighty! Let's go then!" Sibel said then jumped out of her sister's armlock. "I'll race ya!"

"May as well, you won't be able to beat me for much longer!" Nova laughed, and took off toward the jumper bay.


End file.
